


Recovery

by ShantiClaus



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Childhood Trauma, F/F, F/M, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Post-Finale, Post-Season/Series 05 Finale, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma, Recovery, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:20:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29362401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShantiClaus/pseuds/ShantiClaus
Summary: Recovery visits the Princess Alliance/Rebellion members immediately after the battle at the finale of Season 5. We get a look into the minds of a lot of the main characters who now are struggling with feelings, emotions, and memories as the smoke of the war settles. A lot of trauma and abuse is recalled and some characters have issues coming to terms with their past and present. This story follows numerous characters as they begin their adventures in healing Etheria and Restoring the universe after Horde Prime. While many dark and depressing scenes help tell the story, there are no major character deaths, and will be happy endings.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 38





	1. Bad Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I am pretty new to writing Fanfic, however I have been creatively writing for mostly myself for my entire life, starting with Warrior Cats spinoffs in elementary and middle school. Upon watching SPOP I was addicted since episode one and am now utterly obsessed with the series and it's fantastically well written characters/storyline. It was amazing to see so many characters that I related to on an emotional and personal level, and I couldn't help but to feel the need to continue the story from my own thoughts after watching the finale. My writing is not perfect, and some of the story may not make sense here, or may be something I missed in the show that does not add up. I am pretty poo at character dialogue and Ao3 formatting so I am more than welcome to constructive criticism. I have no timeline for when I plan to complete this nor how many chapters I plan to add, however I have an ending point in mind, whether that takes me 1 month or years to finish, I have no idea, but I'm glad people are interested in reading what I have to write! Thanks for being here, my fellow SPOP lovers! I hope you enjoy the ride!

Adora’s eyes blink open, her mind in a daze, still exhausted from the previous day’s battle, but mildly aware that something is off, wrong… Maybe it’s still the fading adrenaline of defeating Horde Prime and freeing Etheria, but she rubs her sleepy eyes with the corner of her jacket and sits up in the dimly lit tent.

Outside she can see someone pacing, and catches the long blonde hair of Perfuma, who appears to be on the fire-watch. Then fast asleep next to her, Bow, Glimmer, who is curled up next to him, and Swift Wind at the entrance. She groggily uses her fingers to brush her loose strands of hair behind her ear and yawns. She then blindly feels the bed roll next to her and gasps quietly when she realizes it’s empty. Catra.

Catra had the first fire-watch of the night, volunteered for it, and Adora after checking in on all her people, tending to the wounded, had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. But Perfuma was on watch now, and Catra was nowhere to be seen. “Catra!” She whispers loudly, fumbling to get her boots on her feet and jumping up as soon as they’re somewhat on. She attempts to make her way around her sleeping friends but panic starts to set in and she trips on the end of Glimmer’s loose sleeping roll. “Shit,” she hisses in frustration as she sees Glimmer stirring, then sitting up to stare at her in sleepy confusion.

“Adora, what’s going on?” Glimmer mumbles sleepily. Adora brings a finger to her lips in attempts to quiet her down, keep Bow asleep. She doesn’t want to alarm everyone.

“It’s nothing, go back to bed.” She replies as she hops over Swiftwind and out the tent door. She scans the camp, looking from side to side, but all she sees is Perfuma and Wrong Hordak who evidently does not require sleep like a normal human being, and the twisting smoke clouds from fires that have burnt themselves out.

_After everything we’ve been through during the Heart, the battle, there’s no way she would have ran again right?_ She thinks, reflecting back to the Heart of Etheria, their exchange there, the pure fright she had believing that she had failed and that she would never see Catra or her friends again.

Her flashbacks are interrupted by a soft but concerned voice, “Adora, are you okay!?” Perfuma places a hand on Adora’s shoulder, her thin face giving Adora a concerned looking smile.

Adora jumps and automatically assumes a fighting stance, her fists up guarding her face. She realizes that it’s only Perfuma, as she catches the princess’s concerned look. “Oh! Oh god you scared me Perfuma, geeze.” She says between her rapid breathing, her heart feels like it’s pounding out of her chest, her mind filled with more flashbacks of Catra sprinting through the forest right before the battle, and her vision of Catra fading as they lay on the floor at the Heart.

Perfuma gives her shoulder a squeeze, “We’ve all been through a lot Adora, especially the past few days, maybe you should get some more rest and then in the morning I can help you relieve some of the pent up stress with my morning meditation session, it really started to work wonders on Catra!”

  
“Catra...have you seen her?!” Adora says, a well rising in her throat at the thought of losing her again. Adora can feel her hands shaking. Perfuma gestures past the tents and toward the valley, “Oh yeah, She got off watch earlier and went straight towards the cliffside, she said she needed some time alone to think and that she wasn’t tired. I think she’s really trying to process her feelings, that’s great, she learns so quickly!” Perfuma says with a slight giggle.

“Thanks Perfuma, I’m going to go check on her!” Adora says, making a b-line for the trees. The full moon illuminates a path that Adora follows, pushing through all of the new foliage and fawnery that she had restored to the planet. On the other side, a cliff overlooking the valley where just the day before they had fought Horde Prime and his army, and turned his spire into a giant living tree that towered over the forest top.

Sat on the edge, arms wrapped around her knees, head lowered on top of her hands is Catra, who jumps and hisses, her tail growing puffy as Adora breaks out of the leaves. “Catra. It’s just me…” She says quietly, realizing she scared the girl. She gives her a soothed look, relieved to see that she’s okay, and slightly embarrassed realizing that her thoughts had been rather irrational. “I can let you be if you’d like,” She rubs the back of her neck, “Perfuma said you’d be out here.” She gives Catra a little smile with the corner of her lip.

Catra’s fur on her tail lays back down and she relaxes her stance. _God she must still have flashbacks from when she was chipped_ , Adora thinks, _It must have been just as traumatic as the failsafe was for me if not worse…_

Catra grabs at her own arm and looks down, her ears laid back, then looks back up at Adora and returns the half smile. “No. I want you here. I didn’t wake you earlier because you needed to rest.” Adora scans Catra’s face, her green and blue eyes look glossy, dark bags have formed underneath them, she looks exhausted herself.

“I need rest? What about you?” Adora says, stepping closer to the girl.

Catra shrugs, “I dunno, I’ve just got a lot going on in my head.”

Catra frowns briefly, then looks back to Adora, who is giving her a concerned but soft look. “You can’t sleep? Is it those nightmares again?”

Catra shakes her head, then tucks a tuft of her short hair behind one of her ears. “It’s just everything, I feel like after being on Prime’s ship I didn’t get a chance to really process everything, we were so busy figuring out how we were going to save the whole world that it kind of became an afterthought. But now the world seems to be quiet and those thoughts and memories are the only things in my head.” Catra, looks down, “It’s a lot…”

Adora bridges the gap between them and then without any words, takes her into her arms, resting one hand on the small of her back and the other on her shoulder, pulling her into her body. Catra’s shorter stature allows her head to rest perfectly on Adora’s shoulder like two pieces to a puzzle. Catra buries her face into Adora’s neck, and lightly grasps at her back, being careful that her claws don’t sink through Adora’s jacket. They stay that way for a while, until adora finally whispers, “But it’s really over…” then sniffs lightly.

Catra finally steps back, but her hands trail down Adora’s arms as she takes her hands in her own. Adora can feel her face turning a shade of pink, her cheeks growing warm as the shorter girl looks up at her, their eyes connecting as if to tell each other that everything will be okay.

Catra suddenly begins to cackle, first small and short, then all but maniacal laughter, with the little shrieks that Adora always thought were cute, but would never tell her.

Adora tilts her head in confusion, “Uhh, are you okay?” She asks with a raised eyebrow. Catra throws her head back then looks back at Adora and grins, “You’re a big dummy you know that Adora.” Her fangs show through her grin. Adora just stares at her, concerned and confused. _Has Catra finally lost it?_

Catra scoffs and places one of her hands on the side of Adora’s cheek. “I’m talking about yesterday...at the Heart… I…” She seems to struggle over her words for a moment. “When I told you I love you,” She blurts out, blushing, her ears laying back as she looks to the side.

Adora laughs, placing her hand overtop of Catra’s on her cheek, giving it a squeeze. “Catra…” Adora trails off, but she interrupts her. “No, I…” She drops her hand from Adora’s cheek, and releases her other, turning her back to Adora to face the valley. Adora can sense a tinge of frustration in her voice. “I meant it Adora, and I also meant it when I said I always have, but I can’t help feeling so much guilt for the way I’ve treated you, how much I’ve hurt you.” Catra gazes out over the valley, her eyes settling one of the Horde spires, now covered in leaves, but the red Horde emblem still visible between the foliage. It makes her cringe thinking about how she had a part in their near demolition of Etheria. “You deserve better than me. I meant that you’re a dummy because you let someone who has only hurt you up until the last few weeks admit their undying love for you, and all you do is just admit it back and tell me you don’t hate me. You all forgave me so fast.” Her voice wavers as she crosses her arms, and takes a few more steps away from Adora.

Adora frowns, and steps forward, trying to take her hand, but she pulls it away. “Catra, I never said that you didn’t hurt me, or Bow, or Glimmer, or any of the princesses for that matter. I know you still struggle with the guilt, I know you still get flashbacks, but I’m not a dummy Catra, I _love_ you. Even after everything we’ve been through, all the things you’ve done, none of that changes it.”

Catra lowers herself back onto the ground, this time sitting in an even tighter ball, her tail wrapped around her legs covering her feet. “I was cruel to you Adora, and you never gave up on me, even when I hit you where it hurt the most.”

Adora walks over to her and sits down next to her, carefully resting an arm on her back in comfort. “I know,” she frowns, “but I forgive you, because I hurt you too, and I didn’t even realize it at the time.” She offers to Catra who seems to turn her head to avoid eye contact. “Adora… What did you see in me? You could have just left me on Prime’s ship, or even dropped me off when I didn’t want you to take the chip off after you rescued me, but you didn’t, you never gave up on me like I did with you.” Catra looks back over at Adora, who smiles back gingerly, almost apologetically, they make eye contact. “I saw my best friend from when we were kids, the nights we spent whispering in the dark and holding in laughter when the guards walked by, the pranks we played on Lonnie, Kyle, and Rojelio, growing up together, learning together, we always looked out for one another, no matter what happened. When I left the Fright Zone, it felt like a part of me was ripped out, but I couldn’t go back. I saw your kindness, the kind that that only I got to see, your change of heart for me even when you were with Hordak and Prime, your apologies, even though as kids you said you would never apologize to anyone, Catra, I was...am in love with you, and I didn't even realize it. You taught me what love is, that’s what I saw in you.”

Catra looks back over at Adora and they make eye contact again, the corners of her lips lift as tears start to well in the corners of her eyes. Adora notices and can’t help but let tears of her own well up beneath her eyelids, blurring her vision slightly. “I’m in love with you too Adora, always will be,” she whispers.

She turns her body and grasps at Adora’s jacket with her claws, pulling her into her arms. Adora topples onto Catra in surprise, but she lets it happen, as she settles down on top of Catra’s chest, listening to the sound of the wind in the trees, Catra’s slow breaths, and loud heartbeat. Her hand rests on her chest, while Catra’s is holding her up on her side. Adora knows that Catra needs her right now, and doesn’t dare move. She feels Catra’s shirt grow wet from her tears and chuckles, rubbing her hand across her shirt as if she could brush the tears from the fabric, then across her face, drying up the remaining tears there. She lifts her head slightly to look at Catra, whose eyes are closed, the last of her tears streaming down her face freely. She wipes the tear from her face, and lays back down against her chest, comforted by Catra’s tight embrace. For the first time in forever things finally felt like they were going to be okay. While they had so much work to do still, so many planets to restore, she felt as if the self doubt, struggle, and yearning was over. She had struggled for so long to admit what she wanted, when she secretly knew all along.

“Catra?” Catra opens her eyes and gazes down at Adora, “Hmm?” Adora can feel Catra’s tail curl around her leg softly, a quiet purr rumbling deep inside the girl’s chest.

“I never got to apologize for leaving you. I never realized how much you went through when we were with the Horde, I knew, but it didn’t occur to me the impact that it had on you, and how leaving without you just made it worse. Catra, I’m so sorry, I really am.”

Catra squeezes her tighter, “‘I forgive you too Adora, and I promise to start working on myself, just like you did the entire time we were apart. I look at you now and I no longer see the stubborn too good for everyone blonde girl,” She giggles to herself, making Adora laugh, “Hey, I was never too good for anyone, everyone just treated me like that, it’s not my fault I’m so good at sparring,” She winks at Catra who playfully shoves her by the shoulder, rolling her onto the ground. She pounces on top of Adora, holding her down by the arms. “Oh yeah? You’re good at what now?” Adora rolls her eyes, then squirms under Catra, freeing one of her hands. She reaches for Catra’s stomach, and tickles her, Catra letting out a laughing screech. “Hey! Watch it, you forget I know where all your ticklish spots are, and you are not in the position to bargain with me right now, She looks Adora up and down, giving her a satisfied and cocky look. The two burst out in laughter, and Catra collapses on the ground next to her, wiping at the tears of laughter escaping. They both roll to their sides and face each other, Catra’s face has softened since earlier.

“You were saying before you so rudely critiqued my sparring skill?” Catra chuckles, “I was saying that when you left the Horde, you became a better person, you grew, and changed for the better. You became the person you were always supposed to be, and I just got worse. But I’ve already started to change, and I will keep working on it, for myself, for you, because you matter to me Adora, you’re worth changing for.” She smiles at Adora, her eye glistening with raw emotion.

Adora smiles back, then leans in, this time kissing Catra for the first time since their kiss at the Heart. Adora’s fingers brush gently against Catra’s chin, sending little pricks of excitement that make the hairs on the back of her neck rise. Catra thinks she can feel the fur on her tail get puffy again too, but this time for a good reason. She can feel something in her chest that she felt at the Heart too, like a throbbing, but gentle. Her cheeks grow red and she feels as if the air she last breathed is trapped in her lungs, all signs of dying but this time it’s good? Maybe she was too emotional the first time they kissed, that she didn’t feel this then, she was on the brink of losing the girl she loved forever then, but this time she felt complete, warm, content. Adora felt like she had been missing this for her whole life, like she never knew, knowing what she knew now, and feeling what she felt now, how she could ever look at Catra and not be filled with pure electricity.

“Woah…” Catra lets out as they finally pull away, she brushes her own finger across her lips as if to make sure they’re still attached. “Yep, I think they’re still there,” Adora grins at her, “but woah is right.”

Catra blushes, her ears back behind her head, “So this is what winning feels like. I escaped the tyrannical war criminal and got the girl!”

Adora laughs, then flexes the arm at her side, winking, “Ohh yeah, and she’s magically more buff than the last time you saw her, She-Ra really did me wonders!”

Catra joins her in laughter, “I missed you Adora, even your corny sense of humor.”

“Yeah, well I missed you too.”

The two girls flop onto their backs and gaze up into the sky, the stars unlike anything they had ever seen in the Fright Zone, even Etheria up until a few weeks ago. Twinkles here and there, the blues, purples, and pinks all swirling and meshing with the stars above, it’s beautiful. They stay quiet for a while until, staring at the stars on their backs, next to each other, until Catra breaks the silence. “You know what’s crazy?” She asks.

Adora thinks for a moment before answering with a sarcastic, “That whole Hordak and Entrapta thing? Yeahhhh, I was thinking the same thing, I mean was anyone going to say anything about that orr?”

Catra smacks her palm to her forehead, Adora turns her head to see her roll her eyes. “No, what’s crazy is how even though Shadow Weaver was...Shadow Weaver,” She says, looking back to the sky.

_“Insolent child, you have never been anything more than a nuisance to me! I've kept you around this long because Adora was fond of you.”_ she hears Shadow Weavers cruel words flash through her head, she remembers herself and Adora wandering into the Garnet Chamber as a kit, the sadness those words had reigned on her life, the feeling of never being good enough no matter how hard she tried, the pure terror she had experienced all while Adora walked free. _“But if you EVER do anything to jeopardize her future, I will dispose of you myself!”_

Those words hurt, and Adora had never fully realized how much pain she had gone through during their time growing up in the Fright Zone. Catra winces at the memory, but continues, “I can’t help to feel bad for the crazy old goon, we didn’t trust her but yet she sacrificed her life for us, for Etheria. Maybe even the worst of people really can change.”

Adora reaches for her hand and takes it in hers, “Shadow Weaver was awful to you growing up, much worse than she ever was to me, and I’m sorry Catra. I will miss her, but she was cruel, manipulative, and unfair. You never deserved the way she treated you, just like I didn’t deserve the attention and praise she gave me.”

  
“You know it’s funny because she told me that everything she did was to prepare me for the world, because I reminded her of herself, having to always work for everything I had, but yet all her words did was fuel my anger, my hatred. But I wanted to hear them so badly, I wanted her approval and love, if you could ever call anything she ever gave us love. At the end she told me she was proud of me. All that time Adora, nothing, until the very end. I feel bad for her, but I won’t miss her, even if she did practically raise us, she doesn’t deserve that from me.”

Adora squeeze her hand and rolls back over to her side. She watches Catra’s face carefully which is contorted in what looks like confusion, sadness, even a little bit of anger. “Hey, it’s okay to let it out, you don’t need to give her any credit for just doing the bare minimum as a caretaker, and I’m here for you Catra, whenever you need me.”

Catra rolls her head back over to look at Adora, and gives her a weak smile, “Thank you, I’ve never been more glad to be home.” Adora nods, then yawns, surprised she’s even awake still after the previous day, surprised Catra is awake as she hasn’t slept yet at all.

“Are you ready for bed yet? I saved you a spot next to me.” She asks. Catra yawns as well, her fangs glimmering in the moonlight, her eyes glazed with tiredness.

“Alright. But I can’t promise I won’t wake you up a million times, I've slept like shit lately, and barely at all.” Adora shrugs, “It’s okay, you’ve only woken me up every night for the last week hissing and groaning…”

Catra puts her ears back as her face turns red, “Yeah it’s kind of…” “Nightmares?” “Yeah.” “I have them too, I know...I mean I don’t know yours but like I understand. Hey, if you have a bad one I’ll be right there, wake me up, I mean it.” She offers warmly. Catra looks relieved, “alright Princess, let’s go to bed.”


	2. The Brilliant Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Princess Alliance (and crew) unofficially elect a leader to give them the pressing answers about what comes next now that Horde Prime is no more. Questions are brought up about what to do with Hordak, and we see into the fear arising nightmares of one character.

_“Cast out the shadows, cast out the shadows, cast out the shadows!”_ The chants grow louder and louder as Catra steps closer and closer to the glowing green pool, Horde Prime guiding her along with the sharp tips of his fingers.

“Go on Little Sister, you’ve made your choice against my will, and now you will pay the price!”

“No! Please! You can’t do this! I told you, I’m your key to activating the ancient weapon on Etheria, I know where She-Ra is! I’ll tell you everything, please!” She pleads, screeching as Horde Prime digs his fingers into her back, pushing her toward the steps of the pool. She’s seen what it did to the clone, the pain and the screams. Her heart pounds in her fingertips, all the way to her to her toes.

“Shhh, it’ll all be over soon Little Sister, no more suffering, no more pain, no more betrayal, you’ll be pure at last!” He hisses, taking her arm and raising it like a trophy to his army. “ _ALL BEINGS MUST SUFFER TO BECOME PURE! ALL BEINGS MUST SUFFER TO BECOME PURE!”_ They chant, even louder, the sound becoming more and more deafening.

Horde Prime shoves her forward toward the pool, her foot plunges into the green water, then the other, and immediately she can feel the electricity, the vibrations, at first mild, then as more and more of her body becomes submerged and it becomes overwhelming. She screams in terror, fear, and from the excruciating pain as the little arcs of energy jump up from the water and attach themselves all over her skin.

“ _ALL BEINGS MUST SUFFER TO BECOME PURE! ALL BEINGS MUST SUFFER TO BECOME PURE! ALL BEINGS MUST SUFFER TO BECOME PURE!”_ Her memories begin to flash like a movie in front of her, the Fright Zone, training, Hordak, Shadow Weaver, Adora. It hurts to remember. It hurts to forget. The memories speed up, like her life flashing before her eyes, until finally the pain stops and her vision fades to darkness.

“Welcome to the hive our newest sister, she is pure, she will serve us well," she hears a voice behind her as she steps out of the water.

There is nothing left. 

* * *

“Catra, CATRA!”

Catra opens her eyes to three silhouettes all leaning over her, their eyes wide, light streaming into the tent from behind them. She sucks in a deep breath, her lungs feeling like they had been on fire, and then jumps out from under them, hissing.

“Woah, calm down Catra, it’s just us!” she hears Bow say, jumping back startled. Glimmer grabs his arm and gestures toward the door, “Hey, let’s give them some privacy,” She says as she catches a glimpse of Adora staring intently at Catra.

Catra stays crouched in the corner, her chest rising and falling heavily as she finally makes out Adora in front of her. Adora stays back, letting her calm down. It’s never been the best idea to approach Catra when she’s scared, her claws hurt. When Adora finally sees her eyes settle on her, she offers out her hand to help her up. “It’s okay, it was just a bad dream.” Catra sighs, then takes her hand, lifting herself off the ground. “It felt so real,” she shutters, “When will it stop?” She asks.

Adora looks at her and frowns, her brows burrow slightly, “I wish I could help you... what would help you?”

Catra frowns back and shrugs, “I dunno, I don’t think there’s anything that could help me, I just keep having nightmares where I’m on Prime’s ship, him wiping my memory, turning me into one of his clones, and the chip.”

Catra shutters as she has a flashback of herself in the white Horde clone suit, her usually heterochromic eyes now neon green, hair slicked back past her ears. She remembers Adora, tears in her eyes, screaming as Horde Prime took control of her body and plunged her off the ledge onto the hard ground below. She wants to forget, to wipe every last memory she had there away and start over from here, but no matter how hard she tries to suppress the memories and forget the feelings, they keep coming back.

Adora’s mind shoots to the same memory, but from her own perspective, the clones walking in with Clone Catra, the fear she had when Catra lifted the white hood to reveal her glowing green eyes, her realization that the girl she had come to save was now turned evil by Horde Prime.

_“Hello, Adora.”_ Her once angry voice turned quiet by her transformation. “ _Prime has given me peace, something you could never do. You broke my heart, but he has made it whole again.”_ She flashes back to reality, Catra is pacing in the corner of the tent, her claws dug into the palms of her hands. “Hey, we’ll get through it together, okay? Prime doesn’t have any control on us anymore, and I’m not going anywhere this time.”

Catra stops and smiles weakly, “Yeah, you’re right, but hey! You better not leave me again, you promised!” She says in a tone of desperation, her voice cracking, her ears flicking backwards.

“I promise,” Adora replies.

Just then the tent doors fly open behind them, and Mermista leans in, “oh, I hope I didn’t like interrupt a private moment or anything, but we’re all meeting up in the planning room, well, tent and we kinda need you guys there.” She says in her sulky voice, looking to the side as if she’d seen something she wasn’t supposed to.

“Alright Mermista, we’ll be there in a second,” Adora says. Mermista nods, “Cool,” and then ducks back out, leaving the tent entrance flapping at the bottom.

“You’ll be okay though?” Adora asks quietly. “Yeah, I think I will,” Catra says, walking past Adora, “I just need to work things out in my head.”

* * *

The planning room tent is filled with all the Princesses, Hordak, Wrong Hordak, Bow, and even Emily, who Entrapta is perched on top of. A loud chatter has filled the space and for once the mood of the room is happy and positive, smiles have reappeared on faces and laughter erupts here and there.

Scorpia is the first to notice that Adora has entered the room, and starts to slowly clap the best she can with her oversized pincers. Then more and more people notice and the sound of clapping replaces all the conversations, warm smiles welcoming Adora in.

“For She-Ra, the Princess of Power and savior of Etheria!” Scorpia yells, then looks back to Adora, grinning cheek to cheek.

Adora feels uncomfortable with all eyes on her, and spots Catra on the other side of the room looking down at the table. “Everyone, thank you but I really couldn’t have done it without you guys, I only played a role in the bigger picture. Glimmer, you helped hold off King Micah. King Micah, Scorpia, Mermista… well, your hearts were there even if you were not,” She laughs and the rooms follows, “I’m glad we got those chips off of you, and thank you Entrapta for figuring out the programming to remove them, and to Bow for activating it after Entrapta was captured.” She moves her eyes to Entrapta, who is beaming at the praise with her hands clasped, and Bow who gives her a firm nod.

“Netossa, Spinnerella, Perfuma, Frosta. and SeaHawk, you all did an amazing job holding off all the clones and helping keep Mermista and Scorpia under control with my valiant steed, Swift Wind. I wouldn't want any other team out on the front lines! Wrong Hordak, thanks for pretending to be a clone for us,” He winks at her, still not understanding the purpose of a wink, “Of course, brother!”

“And Hordak, I think you’ve earned some respect for the part you played in taking down Horde Prime, though we have a lot more trust to earn, I think it’s a good starting point.” He nods at her solemnly, from the inside of the rune Glimmer had placed on him as a temporary jail, just to make sure their old nemesis didn’t try anything on them.

Adora finally rests her eyes on Catra, who is still looking down, trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone. She wonders if Catra is still thinking about this morning, the nightmares. It also can’t be easy being in the same room as the person who once banished her essentially to her death. “And Catra, I wouldn’t be standing here right now if it wasn’t for you. From fighting the First One’s security off, to bringing me back at the Heart, you saved me and you saved all of us,” Adora smiles at her, “I’m proud of you.”

Catra looks up from the table and they make eye contact, her eyes widening as everyone starts to clap again, but this time for her. Catra feels a warmth in her chest as she looks around at everyone in the room, once her enemies, people she had vowed to end, now cheering her on and clapping for her. She looks back to Adora and smiles, her ears back as if to say, “ _thank you.”_ After a lifetime of feeling worthless, Catra finally felt like she had somewhere to belong, people who were willing to forgive and forget when she made a mistake instead of chastise and yell. Maybe once she would have rejected Adora’s words, told her that she didn’t need Adora to tell her that she was important and that she did a good job, but something inside her had started to change. Maybe the worst of people really could change, like the change in Shadow Weaver’s heart at the end of her life. Catra would never be like Shadow Weaver, but she would be better than she ever was, she vowed to that.

“So, not to end the moment so soon,” Netossa interrupts the cheering, “But we’ve got a lot of work to do and I’m thinking the sooner we start the better,” she says sternly, crossing her arms.

Adora sits down in an empty space next to Mermista, and nods, “Netossa is right, I know we just got over a really intense battle, but the people of Etheria still need us, there are still towns that need rebuilt, people that need returned to their homes, and I’m sure that there are still Horde soldiers out there that will stay loyal to the Horde despite it falling apart and Prime being beat.”

Entrapta interrupts loudly, “Yeah not to mention the approximate one hundred and thirty seven planets that we need to restore, technically She-Ra needs to restore them but according to my calculations it will take us the next 20.445 years to do so! I agree, we should start right away,” her eyes get huge as she types into her trackpad, “Oooo and think of all the tech we could find on approximately one hundred and thirty seven planets!” She ends with a screech of excitement.

Everyone’s eyes in the room are wide as they look around at each other. “So how are we supposed to restore 137 planets with only one She-Ra, that will literally take foreverrr.” Mermista groans. “Not forever, only 20.445 years give or take, depending on how many stops we take to refuel Darla and how much tech we can fit in her cargo hold!” Entrapta explains.

“Ughhh,” Mermista rolls her eyes, “what about Saleneas? Last I checked it’s still in like, ruins.”

“Yes, as are countless other towns,” Perfuma offers, giving her friend a pat on the shoulder, “It’s okay Mermista, we’ll help rebuild all of Etheria together! It’ll be fun!” She ends in an excited tone.

Adora sighs, beginning to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work on her plate, “Right, and we’ll get to everything, but it’s going to take time. I’m sure a lot of the townspeople would be more than willing to help rebuild their homes now that the Horde is no longer a threat, and as for restoring the planets that Horde Prime destroyed, it will take a long time, but we can do it!” She exclaims, raising a balled fist.

Micah nods in agreement, “I may be the oldest in the room, and only the King of Bright Moon, but I agree with Adora. If we divide all the tasks amongst ourselves, we’ll be able to restore full balance to Etheria, and to the whole universe before we know it! I’m sure Adora has a brilliant plan!”

Everyone looks to Adora as if they expect her to have all the answers, but in reality she feels just as clueless as they are. _Is it even possible to reach 137 planets in my lifetime?_ She thinks, rubbing the bridge of her nose. _Come on Adora, think! They’re expecting you to come up with some flawless plan!_ “Uhh…” is all she can manage to say, looking over to Bow and Glimmer for support. Even if their plans frequently went wrong, they always figured things out together.

“Well, maybe if we all split up into teams, we can help each other rebuild?” Bow says, rubbing the back of his neck and shrugging at Adora. “ _Sorry,”_ he mouths to her.

“Bow, isn’t that what we already said?” Mermista says, rolling her eyes.

“Ooo, I’ll help Glimmer and Adora restore all the planets, I bet they could use an ice guard on their team!” Frosta exclaims, freezing her body in a suit of armor and punching a frozen fist into the air. Glimmer leans over and whispers something in Frosta’s ear, laughing nervously, “okay fine, then I’ll be an ice guard for the princesses down here while you guys get to have all the fun in space,” she pouts, crossing her arms and sitting back down.

Scorpia pipes in, “I could help find all the remaining Horde soldiers while you guys are gone and persuade them to help us rebuild Etheria!” She says jumping up, nearly knocking over the table, “oh wow okay sorry I just got reallyy excited and uh, yeah.” She says, patting the table.

“My brothers, I would like to assist in the reclaiming of Etheria, maybe I would be of use with Scorpia?” Wrong Hordak pipes in, Adora nods in agreement, “That’s a good idea, I think two previous Horde members would be perfect for that part of the mission.” Scorpia holds up her claw across the table in attempts to high five Wrong Hordak but he stares at her blankly. “Oh, yeah, I guess we’ll have to teach you what high fives are,” she says, lowering her arm in disappointment.

“What about him?” Glimmer asks, her brow furrowing as she glares at Hordak from across the table. “He should be somewhere worse than here after all he’s done to Etheria, to my friends and family.” Her fists are balled, her mouth in a thin frown.

Adora looks over to Hordak, in his rune prison, who looks utterly confused. His eyes are no longer a green glow, that was among one of the few things restored to him after Entrapta removed his chip. He frowns, looking around the table, then bowing his head. “I don’t recall a lot of what happened before my memory was wiped by my brother, however Entrapta reminded me of all the horrible things I’ve done to Etheria, to all of you. I do not blame you if you wish to keep me as your prisoner, or exile me to Beast Island as I did to so many others.”

Entrapta looks up from her trackpad, “Hordak saved me, he didn’t have to, just like I didn’t have to come back to the rebellion, he chose to, just like me!” She offers her friend a smile.

Glimmer sighs, and her face lightens, “I guess everyone deserves a second chance… I’m sorry. I can’t forgive what you’ve done in your past Hordak, but I accept that you are willing to become a better person.” Adora smiles, seeing the parallels between conversations she’s had with Catra, and this one. Though she would have loved to hurt the person who hurt those she loves, instead she decides to accept the apology, and move on, looking toward the future.

“What if we allow him the same privileges as we did with Shadow Weaver and then go from there?” Glimmer asks, “Not exactly a prisoner but still not free to leave?” Adora and the others nod their heads in agreement, “I think that’s a good idea, he can stay at Bright Moon under guard supervision until he earns our trust.” Adora responds, looking over to Hordak. He looks at her and gives a weak smile, “Thank you for your mercy.”

“I think I have an idea, an amazing one! One full of adventure and good times with friends and excitement! Nights on the town! Adrenaline and danger at every corner!” Seahawk yells, stepping one foot up onto the table.

Mermista groans and rolls her eyes at him, “Listen as much as we all would love to go burn Horde Prime’s ship to the ground, I know I personally would,” She adds, “I don’t think that solves anything.”

Seahawk dramatically puts the back of a hand to his forehead and groans, “ugh, nobody ever wants to adventure with Seahawk, is it the me? The shanties? The setting people’s ships on fire?”

“I’ll set stuff on fire!” Frosta yells, standing up on top of her seat.

“Uh I think I’ll pass, fire isn’t really too great when it comes to organic matter,” Perfuma interjects, “But it’s not you Seahawk, you have a fantastic personality.”

Around the table the volume rises as the group chats and laughs together. Adora rests her head in her hands still unsure of what the actual plan is, and overwhelmed by seemingly being deemed fit to lead a whole group of people in the restoration of an entire planet.

Before she can say anything, Netossa yells over the noise, “Everyone be quiet! Let Adora talk!”

Adora peeks through her fingers and then slides them down to her cheeks, unsure of what to do or say next. “Alright so Glimmer, Bow, Frosta… wait no, Glimmer Bow, Scorpia, ughh sorry let’s try this again,” her heart beats in her throat, _ugh pull it together Adora, they’re waiting on you!_

“Glimmer, Bow, Catra, and I will take charge in venturing out to restore the planets. Scorpia and Wrong Hordak will scout for remaining Horde soldiers and either draw them in to help us, or keep them away from towns, preferably back to the Fright Zone since most of them live there anyway. Netossa, Spinerella, you two will focus on helping rebuild towns and return them to normal. Perfuma, Mermista, Seahawk you’ve got a big job ahead of you with Seleneas, but it is your home Mermista, so I know you’ll get it done. Swift wind I need you at Bright Moon posted up with King Micah, protect it until I get back, and make sure Hordak doesn’t get into any more trouble. And Frosta, I want you to be King Micah’s personal royal ice guard, think you can do that?” Frosta nods her head, “Affirmative captain!” Then nudges Micah who pats her shoulder.

“Last but not least, Entrapta, before we leave I want you to dig into a fuel source that will last a lot longer for Darla, we’re going to be needing a lot of it, and then you will join us in space, you’ll be able to learn as much as you can on each planet.” She gives Entrapta a grin whose eyes are glistening with excitement. “Oooo I already know where to start!” She exclaims, jumping off of Emily and typing onto her tracker pad.

Adora sighs in relief as her plan has seemed to sort itself out, the Best Friend Squad will return to action, Etheria will be rebuilt, and magic will be restored to the planets of Despondos.

The room fills with chatter and laughter again as the meeting unofficially disperses. Bow and Glimmer, Glimmer hanging onto Bow by his arm meet Adora at her side, Adora scans the room for Catra but she seems to have slipped out right at the end. “Hey, good job on the plan, I know everyone kind of sprung it on you but it only felt right to have you in charge,” Glimmer shrugs, "I’m only the Queen of Bright Moon, but you’re the badass warrior princess that ultimately saved everyone on the planet.”

Bow grins at Glimmer, “I don’t know, you’ve gotten pretty strong lately, but I’m happy to fight next to either of you any day, we all make a great team.”

“Speaking of team,” Adora interrupts, “did either of you see where Catra went off to?”

The pair scans the room, “No, last I saw she was sitting next to Entrapta. Is she okay? She seemed really scared this morning.” Bow asks with a tone of concern. Glimmer pulls on his arm as if to quiet him, _she must have gone through some of the same horrific experiences on Prime’s ship that Catra did,_ Adora thinks, even her own experience up there was horrifying enough for her.

“She’ll be okay,” Adora replies, “She just needs time to heal, and that’s something she has to do herself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for hanging on through a lot of what seems to me to be a lot of rough and choppy dialogue, not my strongest point. And thanks for reading through the super spaced out format. I've started to format like this so that my wife has an easier time reading :)


	3. Healing Sessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra visits with Perfuma who offers to help her think her way through a lot of the mental struggle and grief she's yet to deal with since being rescued from Horde Prime's ship. Catra gets emotional, and shows a stark change in attitude from her previous self, proving change is possible.

“Think deep, focus on all of your memories, good and bad. Let your mind run through each and every scenario. Even if it hurts, you have to accept the things that have happened to you and let them go.”

Catra opens one of her eyes, Perfuma had instructed her to close her eyes to be able to “really feel the emotions,” but she didn’t see the point in it. “Hey! Eyes closed!” Perfuma scolds her lightly as she walks around Catra, "It's part of the experience." Catra readjusts herself so she’s sitting with her legs crossed, hands resting neutrally on her knees, her tail wraps around her feet. She scoffs to herself quietly, not sure what difference having her eyes closed would make.

Nothing comes to her head but the darkness behind her eyelids. It’s not like she wills the flashbacks into her mind, they just come randomly, she dreams them, words and moments trigger them. “Perfuma, it’s not working, I can’t do it, and I don’t think this is going to work, we’ve been trying this for almost an hour now.”

“That’s nonsense, how do you think I stay so positive all the time, even during times of conflict, like when I had no idea if my village would make it through another Horde attack?” She puts her tiny hand on Catra’s shoulder and gives her a reassuring squeeze. “It’ll start to come out, you just have to focus and reflect. How about you start at the very beginning, do you want to talk about it instead?”

Catra feels her brow furrow in frustration, she doesn’t even get the whole point of this. How does remembering everything help her forget? It doesn’t make any sense. Shouldn’t she be trying to erase it all, to avoid it? “What do you mean at the very beginning? It’s not like I even know where I came from in the first place.” Catra scoffs, she realizes her eyes are automatically opened again and squeezes them back shut before Perfuma notices.

“Exactly! You’re starting to get it!” Perfuma exclaims.

“What?” Catra exclaims in confusion. _Isn't meditation supposed to be silent anyway?_ She thinks to herself.

“That was your emotions coming out! Your early childhood sounds like you were confused, upset, you couldn’t figure out who you were, and where you came from?” Perfuma asks like a question.

Catra scoffs again, _how does this stranger know that from just one little thought?_ Granted the princess had seemed to befriend her, and had been nothing but kind to her, but Catra had never spoken to her about her feelings more than a few words. Catra _was_ confused though for a lot of her childhood. Like Adora, she never had parents, or at least she never got to know who they were or where they were. Whether they abandoned her and the Horde took her in, or the Horde took her from them and then she was abandoned, she would never know, but that was the case with a good majority of the kids in the Horde. Though it bothered her not knowing where she came from, she couldn’t help not to feel special because of it. Her backstory was no more exciting and no less confusing than anyone else’s.

“How did you do that? Do you secretly have more powers than you let on?” Catra asks, raising her eyebrow while struggling to keep her eyes closed.

“You could say I’m good with people,” Perfuma replies, “Anyway, keep going, what else do you associate your early childhood with, what were some of your first memories?”

Catra thinks hard, but there isn’t a whole lot to her earliest memories, dark metallic hallways, scolding voices, and mostly just negative memories, ones she would like to forget. But one set of memories sticks out over all the rest. “Adora. She’s been there since day one, god she used to have the dorkiest grin with her front teeth missing,” She giggles at the thought, picturing toothless toddler Adora in her head, “We were pretty much inseparable, Adora stuck up for me, and I stuck up for her, we promised… She was the only person I needed, the only person I ever really wanted,” Catra smiles at the memory.

“And then Shadow Weaver...” whatever happy expression was left on her face was now gone at the thought of Shadow Weaver. Shadow Weaver hadn’t even found Catra, it was Adora, who stumbled upon Catra, left out all by herself in a box on the streets of the Fright Zone. Catra had been abandoned and unwanted since day one. _“I've kept you around this long because Adora was fond of you,”_ Shadow Weaver’s cruel words echo through her head.

Shadow Weaver had only raised them both because of Adora, because she and Adora were best friends, Catra had known this though since the very start, but that was never what bothered her. It was always the stark difference in the treatment Adora got versus Catra herself.

“Okay and what do you feel, remember when you think about Shadow Weaver?” The princess asks.

“I…” Catra struggles to turn her thoughts into words. It had been easy to talk to Adora about Shadow Weaver, but it frustrated Catra to try and explain the dynamic with a stranger. “Shadow Weaver raised Adora and I, but she wasn’t my mother, not even close. I only existed around her because Adora stuck up for me, Shadow Weaver let me know that if it hadn’t been for Adora that she would have gotten rid of me. Shadow Weaver would let mistakes Adora make slide, but would attack me for the same thing. She made me feel like I was worthless, and cared for all at the same time. She said some awful things to me that she would have never said to Adora, it wasn’t fair. Adora would sometimes stand up for me if she was around, but sometimes she wouldn’t to save herself from Shadow Weaver’s wrath. I don’t blame her, but it still hurts. She only got to see half of it.” Catra sighs, she can feel tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, but she doesn't want to let herself cry around a stranger, she barely wants to let herself cry around Adora.

She continues, the words seeming to pour out uncontrollably, “When I think of Shadow Weaver I feel anger, pain, betrayal, because she left me too, like Adora did, she used me for her own benefit. She manipulated me, and I...I think at one point I started to become her... oh my god, I became the person I despised the most didn’t I?” She gasps, coming to the realization. She had never thought about it like that, she had never connected the thoughts together, but now they started to attach to one another like pieces to a puzzle. Catra, at her lowest points had mirrored Shadow Weaver, had said the same horrible things she did, did the same horrible things that Shadow Weaver had. “I was Shadow Weaver.”

Catra opens her eyes, Perfuma is right in front of her, staring at her. “That was so good Catra, wow, so your initial source of pain was Shadow Weaver, she was supposed to raise you and nurture you but she didn’t, she tore you down. Not only that, but you got to witness her building Adora up, nurturing her like she should have nurtured you.”

Catra feels tears start to stream down her face as the lump in her throat breaks. She tries to wipe them away with the back of one of her hands, she doesn’t want Perfuma to see, but it’s too late at this point. Her mind flashes back to the pure fear when Shadow Weaver paralyzed her in the Garnet Chamber, running and hiding in her bunk, or behind boxes when things got to be too much. “Stop...Stop!” she yells, feeling tormented by her own mind, Perfuma pushing and pushing her to keep thinking about all the things that caused her pain.

Perfuma frowns, “Are you alright? We can stop, but you’re doing so well!”

Catra sniffles, “Adora promised to protect me, to look out for me when we were kids in the Fright Zone, but she never got it. She was born to succeed, she never had to fight for the recognition that I did, she never had to work as hard as I did just to get an ounce of approval from everyone, and then she just left, for strangers...” Catra can barely keep in sobs as her chest heaves, it feels like she isn’t in control of her own emotions. She can't believe how vulnerable she is in this moment, but can't help it.

Perfuma steps closer to Catra and puts an arm around her in an attempt to comfort her as she cries. “So when Adora left, you equated your feelings of worthlessness to her being gone because of what Shadow Weaver told you as a kid, and you believed that because Adora left and Adora was the only person giving you worth in Shadow Weaver’s eyes, that you were no longer safe. With Adora gone, she was no longer there to protect you from Shadow Weaver, that you no longer had worth to her, and that now you had to fight even harder for and sort of approval from her.”

Catra gasps, then feels herself breaking down, her fists turning into balls, vision blurred by the tears. She leans down until she’s looking onto her own lap, her tears falling onto her pant legs. She doesn’t want it to make sense, she doesn’t want Perfuma to show her the connections, it all hurts.

“When Adora left, you felt like her promise to protect you had been broken, the ultimate sense of betrayal.” Perfuma concludes, sending Catra further into her breakdown. Catra had never been able to understand her own feelings herself, she’d always just blamed Adora, and despised the woman who raised her, she’d acted with callus and anger, never understanding where it came from or why she felt this way. Shadow Weaver had conditioned Catra and Adora against each other, something that they had been too young and too naive to understand as kids. And if Catra had persuaded herself hard enough and long enough that Adora didn’t need her, didn’t want her, then the feelings of betrayal wouldn’t hurt so much anymore. It all made sense.

Catra had lived through so much trauma and had never realized it. Her visions in the Crystal Castle of herself and Adora as kids had been a reminder of the trauma, she had viewed herself as a small helpless kid that needed protection from the cruel world. So she had pitted herself against Adora as Shadow Weaver always had. She thinks of how proud that kid would be now after everything that had happened over the last year, from what she thought of as her lowest point, to now.

At one point every struggle that Catra had ever gone through, every reminder or the pain and trauma had eaten at her soul. At one point she hadn’t wanted to exist anymore, she was okay with dying, she had nothing left. But now recognizing what these feelings were and where they had come from in the first place was starting to put rest to her soul. Adora, put rest to her soul. Just being able to forgive her for leaving was one of the biggest steps she had ever made toward healing. Catra knew the pain was far from over, but she would no longer let her abuses define who she was, and the love she was worth.

She let out an exasperated breath, envisioning Shadow Weaver before the heart, looking back at her and Adora before she gave herself up, and Catra chose to let go. It was the right thing to do, to regain her peace.

Catra opens her eyes and sighs heavily, wiping at her tears again with her arm. Perfuma gives her a caring look with soft eyes and takes her other hand, giving it a squeeze. “Perfuma, I don’t know how you did it, but you’re a genius,” Catra smiles weakly between sniffles. Perfuma smiles back, “You've been through so much Catra, between abuse, unfair treatment, and ultimately betrayal. You need to start seeing your worth as an individual Catra. You are a good person, and you matter to all of us. No matter the things you’ve done in the past. We’re going to help you get over that pent up anger and sadness okay?”

Catra laughs quietly and sniffs back her now runny nose, “I appreciate it Perfuma, thank you. I told Adora the other night I wanted to work on myself but to be honest I didn’t really know how, besides just trying to control my anger and apologizing when I mess up. But I think I understand now why I feel those things, where they come from. I know I have a long way to go, years of hurt to undo, but I’ll get there.” Catra concludes her thoughts, wiping away at the last straggler tears.

She never knew it would feel so good, so freeing to let all the things that had been weighing down on her go. Even the things that she had never thought about before, all the connections and realizations she had made today. She felt lighter, like a weight she had been carrying around since she came back home to Adora was lifted. She knew that there was still so much more to unpack, the nightmares and the flashbacks, but she felt she was on the right path.

“You’re welcome, I’m so glad I could help you, and thank you for trusting me enough to talk to me about it.”

Catra stands up and places a hand on Perfuma’s shoulder, “You princesses aren’t as bad as I thought, I’m happy to call you a friend.”

Perfuma smiles, “As am I Catra.”

* * *

Catra felt at peace the rest of the day, she felt like she was able to appreciate the small things, like Melog at her side, the stars in the sky, and the green landscape that surrounded her, a stark contrast to the dullness she she had been around growing up and the sterile whiteness on Horde Prime’s ship. The magical energy Adora had restored to Etheria was unlike anything she had ever seen, it was beautiful, exciting, and filled her with hope.

Before Adora came back for her on Prime’s ship, Catra had all but lost hope, and had accepted that she was okay with leaving it all after apologizing to Adora. Hope was never something she had in the Fright Zone, she aspired, she wished, and she worked hard, but she never had hope. She never had a vision of what she wanted, that was taken away from her since she was a kid.

Now Catra had hope for a future so wildly different than her life had been before, she saw her future on Etheria, and with Adora. She could envision herself next to Adora, hand in hand, restoring the magic and bringing hope to every place that Horde Prime had destroyed.

She would have never guessed, not even in her wildest dreams, that she was capable of feeling these things after all she had been through. _Is this what it feels like to start healing?_ Catra wonders, taking another lap around the camp on her fire-watch.

She wanted to tell Adora everything that she had discussed and realized with Perfuma, but Adora had been busy all day with planning and assisting the locals, recovering from the battle days earlier. Catra recognized that Adora had a lot on her plate, and that when the time was right she would be able to show her just how much she herself had changed, the progress, the healing. She hoped that one day Adora too would be able to heal, though Adora had yet to admit it, Shadow Weaver hurt her too, Catra knew this now. Catra didn’t expect herself to be perfect, and she didn’t expect herself to make all the right choices, but she knew now that she was finally her own person, and that she had the ability to do things for herself without having to worry about what others thought or their expectations of her.

_One day Adora will realize it too._ She thinks to herself, as she watches the hustle and bustle around camp. _And I’ll be there to help her, and I’ll stay._


	4. Sorceresses Circle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer and Bow head into the Whispering Woods on a scouting mission when Bow suddenly disappears. Glimmer makes a bittersweet realization and is flooded with grief. The two share a touching moment.

“Look, Glimmer! The forest is so much more alive now!” Bow shouts back to Glimmer who is a good distance back from him. _Must be nice to have such long legs!_ She thinks, rolling her eyes, then jogging to catch up. She meets Bow at the edge of the woods, and they move the leaves and branches aside, entering the deep, dense woods thicket.

Before, the Whispering Woods had been a mysterious and formidable place, filled with creepy mythical monsters, elementals. Glimmer knew that they weren't actually monsters that they were there to protect the magic of the woods, but that had never made them any less scary or formidable.

The never ending maze-like corridors and twisty branches had given it’s darkness an eerie look. But now, after Adora had returned the magic to the planet, the woods had made a complete turn around. The trees were now draped with glowing roots and vines, illuminating the twisted branches as almost a sort of décor. The long shadows once cast now brightened, reflecting the pink, purple, blue, and green faunas. Wildlife teems about, flying in the treetops, and rooting on the floors. Every once scary creature now a smaller and more gentle version of itself before.

The pair's eyes grow wide, glistening with amazement for the sights about them. “Wow, these cannot be the same woods I grew up in!” Bow exclaims, he can’t seem to help himself from touching everything around him, from the pink tinged moss, to the glowing vines. He wanders aimlessly, causing Glimmer to chase after him again to keep up. She’s somewhat annoyed that he won’t slow down, but like him, she’s also looking all over in amazement at the forest that once scared her half to death as a kid.

“I wonder if we’ll still get lost,” she replies, gazing all around her in awe, watching colorful birds take flight, but she doesn't hear his voice back. She looks back over to where she last saw Bow but he isn’t there anymore. “Bow?” She calls out. “Bow! Hey, not funny! Just because this place isn’t scary anymore doesn’t make it okay for you to try and scare me!” She waits for a moment with her arms crossed, but all she hears is the sound of the wildlife around her. She looks from side to side, a slight panic starting to set in. _Ughh, why did I let him out of my sight? Adora is going to kill me if I come back after only being gone for an hour, without Bow. She has enough on her plate as it is,_ She thinks.

“Bowww! Come on, this isn't funny anymore!” She shouts out. She starts to walk in the direction they were heading, pushing her way through a thick bundle of branches. “Ugh, come on move!” She yells at the branches as if they’ll realize they're in her way and move for her. “Oh… yeah.” She hesitates, then teleports herself onto the other side of the tangle.

When she turns around her eyes grow even wider yet. She sees Bow, but he’s looking at something much bigger.

They’re standing in a circle, a wide clearing seemingly cut into the middle of all the trees. Their branches hang almost all the way over the middle, leaving a small space in the center open to the sky. The glowing vines drape downwards, illuminating the circle. In the middle, a hole in the ground with what appears to be steps carved in the stone downwards. Thick vines and moss grow on and over the side of it. Around the outside of the circle are large crystal-like rocks, purple in color, with magic rune looking writing carved into them. Steam rises from the hole in the center, and Bow is staring down into it. Something about the place seems familiar to Glimmer, but she can’t put a finger on it.

“Bow there you are! Oh thank god, I thought you were lost, I thought I was going to have to explain to Adora what happened to you! I-”, She stops when she realizes that Bow hasn’t replied to her yet, nor turned around. “Bow?” She calls out, she carefully makes her way down from the edge of the circle, to the middle where Bow is standing. “He-Hello?” She calls out again as she approaches, but Bow doesn’t reply.

Glimmer approaches him from behind, and slowly reaches her hand out to touch him, ready to teleport away at any moment if he ends up being some scary doppelganger mimicking monster. But as she reaches toward him, her hand hits something hard, and little sparks of purple energy spark outward.

Glimmer’s eyes grow wide, “Oh my god it’s magic!” She notices Bow is stuck in a strange position, as if he had been walking when he was stopped, one foot on the ground the other balancing on his toe. Glimmer walks around to his front side and notices his eyes following her, looking terrified, but nothing else moves.

He’d stepped onto a rune with stopping power, and a powerful one at that. It’s strange, not too many sorcerers these days were able to cast a rune powerful enough to stop a fully grown person for longer than a few seconds. Maybe she could, with the power she had gained from her runestone, but that was just that, she would have had to have been the one to cast it. And this place was only mildly familiar to her.

“Bow! Hold on, I'll get you out from there!” She yells, pressing her palms together and trying to focus, she closes her eyes. _I know how to cast a basic stopping spell, but what about… unstopping? Maybe moving? Ugh, I can’t let Bow know that I don’t know how to get him out of here, he’ll freak out!”_

She decides to try what she knows, she brings up a breaking spell, bringing her hands together at different angles, then drawing them in a circular motion. The breaking spell manifests, and she pushes it outward towards the rune. But it hits the rune and then dissipates into tiny little sparks of magic. Bow’s eyes watch her, wide and concerned looking.

“Keep holding on Bow, I’ll figure this out,” she lowers her voice, “At least I hope so…”

She closes her eyes again and squeezes them as if to concentrate, she wished that Shadow Weaver had taught her more magic when she was in Bright Moon, though a despicable woman, Glimmer had learned so much about magic from her, she was an immensely powerful sorceress and spell caster.

_Come on Glimmer! Think! There has to be a way to get him out!_ She opens her eyes back up and looks around the space again. She turns from bow and moves toward the hole in the center that he had been looking at when he was frozen in time by the rune. It’s not too far down, but at the bottom is a steaming pool, maybe a hot spring? _Why does it_ _all seem so familiar?_ She thinks.

She takes the first step down, then another. As she descends into the hole, she begins to see a small room open up, one that surrounds the pool of water, just circling it. On the wall, a mural starts to reveal itself. Glimmer makes it to the bottom of the hole and walks around the circle room that surrounds the pool of water.

The murals are painted in a beautiful fashion, artistic, colorful, and in a familiar artistic style… Her eyes lock on one of the panels on the wall, a man, tall, a staff in hand, long flowing hair and a crown. Next to him stands a woman, long hair parted in the middle, large wings to her either side, a jewel adorning her forehead. And in her arms, a small bundle, what appears to be blankets, a baby. None of them have distinguishing facial features, they remind her of the murals at Bright Moon. Glimmer gasps, her eyes widening. _Could it be?_ She thinks. _If it is, how have Bow and I never found this place with as much time as we’ve spent in the woods?_

Glimmer reaches out and touches the mural, and suddenly her head falls back. She flashes back to visions of her childhood.

She’s in the throne room at Bright Moon, a very familiar place, one she had spent her whole life growing up in. Her mother, looking so much younger than the last time she had seen her, holding a bundled blanket in her arms. Her father, then a bare faced man with his long hair secured up in a bun at the back of his head. His staff held high, looking proud over Bright Moon next to his wife. In her arms a baby screams, then coos as it’s mother looks down at it lovingly. A small tuft of pink and purple hair rests on top of it’s head. 

_It’s… it’s me…_ She thinks, her mouth wide open in disbelief. She feels a lump starting to form in the back of her throat. Even if this is just a vision from the past, she’d do anything just to be near Angella again. Just to feel her magical presence, everything else here felt so real.

She tries to run across the temple floor toward her parents, “Mom! Dad!” She screams, reaching out toward them. It’s been so long since she’d seen her mother, she missed her so much. She had been so dismissive of her mom for so long, she’d done so many things that she’d just chalked up to as being an “angsty teenager,” but now she was filled with regret. If she could only hug her one more time, tell her she loved her. Even just to say goodbye.

The lump in her throat breaks and tears begin to stream down her face as she runs toward them, hands reaching out. Her eyes get blurry and she wipes at them as she ascends the steps to the top of the throne, but when she opens her eyes again, she gasps and steps back in shock. Her mother is no longer there, looking down on her as she was before. Instead it’s only her father, and a much younger version of herself, hand in hand.

“Mom?” She whispers, she can hear her voice echo around her, her tears keep streaming down her face. But Angella is gone.

Glimmer drops to her knees on the steps, her face to the ground. She’s avoided thinking about her mother since her death, but that only meant she’d never really taken the time to mourn and to grieve. Bow and Adora had helped her through the sadness, but the chaos on Etheria before the battle had quickly consumed her thoughts of Angella, on top of being imprisoned on Prime's ship.

She sobs, and collapses to the ground, her head falling into her hands, the tears slip between her fingers and collect in a puddle underneath. Between sobs she opens her eyes momentarily, and notices a shadow cast over herself. She opens both of her eyes and looks up to see her father standing over top of her, staff in hand, and the toddler version of Glimmer next to him.

She looks so much younger, so much sweeter, so innocent. She wishes that she could somehow will herself into that young body, to hijack the life of her younger self in whatever reality this was, so maybe she could say goodbye, or even find a way to save her mother this time around.

She lets out one more sob, then wipes at her tears. “Dad?” She asks, as the man stares down at her, his young face so different from his current aged and weathered one. His face bears the youth of a man who had not seen the things her father had now. He reaches down with an outstretched hand, and glimmer reaches out to grab it, but her hand goes right through his. He picks up a stuffed animal, and hands it to toddler Glimmer who squeezes it and smiles.

Glimmer heaves, and looks at him with sadness as they turn away from her, and leave her all alone in the throne room, as her vision dissipates back to reality. Glimmer comes back to, still on her knees, next to the steaming pool. She sighs, still no more sure now how to free Bow than she was before, and unsure of how much time has passed since she came down here. She tries to think before she has to go back up and face Bow, probably to tell him that he’d have to be stuck in the rune until she could get help, but then she realizes she'd been here before.

No wonder it had all looked so familiar and that it had sparked a memory vision for her when she touched the mural. She knew what this palace was. This was the Circle of Sorceresses, a place her mother had always told her about, though Glimmer never quite believed it existed, and didn’t have much of any memory of ever being there. Her father had created it for her when she was born with the intention of taking her there to train her into a sorceress. She had visited once or twice before she was old enough to train, but King Micah was killed by the Horde before he ever had the chance to start her training, and so she had never returned. Shortly afterward the Horde began occupying the land surrounding the circle, and the journey there had become too treacherous for any attempts to go back.

_He must have laid runes all over to keep the Horde out!_ She thinks. _And if there was no sign of the Horde ever being here, they must have all gotten out… that must mean…_ And then she hears it above her, the faint whine of magic powering down, the rune had fallen. _Of course! Her father had used short term stopping runes, with a duration short enough to keep their victim there temporarily, one long enough to give them a terrifying enough time in the old Whispering Woods. The entire purpose was to drive them away and keep them away!_ She thought, _He was a genius!_

“Bow?” She calls out, picking herself up and racing up the stairs. She hears a pained grunt, then sees Bow on his knees, attempting to pull himself up off the ground. Glimmer races over to him and tackles him, throwing her arms around him, a tear still lingers at the corner of her eye as she squeezes him tightly, burying her face in his chest. He just sits there on his knees, eyes wide, and unsure of what has just gone on.

“Glimmer?” he says, looking down at her and then enveloping her in a hug. “Glimmer? Oh thank god, I thought I would be stuck like that forever! Glimmer hugs him back, then wipes her last tear away before pulling back from him, “It wasn’t even me, it was my dad,” she smiles lightly, “I know this place, it’s the Circle of Sorceresses.”

Bow looks all around, gazing at the ceiling of limbs, and then stands up, helping Glimmer back to her feet. “How did you get in without tripping one of the runes?” Bow asks in amazement.

Glimmer walks over to one of the crystals on the edge of the circle and steps around it, running her hand over the writing inscripted on it as she makes her way around it, her eyes grow wide with realization. “Because Bow, the entire Circle is protected by a spell, one that only allows those who have been granted to access it in.” _Oh my god he was brilliant!_ She thinks to herself again.

“Woah, is that what all of these crystals are?” He asks, walking up to another one on the other side. Glimmer follows him, noticing a different text on this crystal than the last, and then again a different one on the next crystal. “I- I think so…” She replies in awe, running her finger over the cuts in the stone. When she lifts her finger off the last crystal, the same purple magic from the rune arcs between it and her fingertip. “He must have attached a guardian spell to each one of these stones, engraved it to give it effects that last until the stones are destroyed. Together they all protect the Circle, and envelope it to prevent anyone who isn’t supposed to be here from staying.”

“Woah…” Bow says, walking back towards the middle. Glimmer watches in horror as all of a sudden a large flash of purple envelopes Bow, and freezes him yet again in a circular rune prison. _Right, he was never granted access, but I was, so he’s been frozen in time yet again._ She looks over to Bow who is stuck yet again, this time with an excited look on his face as he gazes down at the water below them.

“Hold on Bow, I think I know how to get you out of there a lot quicker this time, and how to stop it from happening once and for all!” She makes her way down into the room at the bottom with the water, and then closes her eyes. She starts to imagine Bow, remembering him sneaking into her bedroom back at Bright Moon through the window, their heartfelt moments before the battle for Etheria, all the adventures they had been on with the best friends squad. She concentrates, and then takes all those memories, and forces them outward as she casts a trust spell, her hands moving in a circular motion away from each other. A bright blue ball of energy forms in front of her and she pushes her hands forward, casting it out.

The ball of energy from the spell hits the water in front of her, and the steam suddenly turns the same color blue, rising, and encompassing the Circle. Glimmer races up the steps, anxious to see if the spell worked, and breathes a breath of relief as she spots Bow, again brought to his knees by the rune, but now free from it’s grasp.

“Bow, I did it! I cast a trust spell into the water and it set you free!” She looks down at her hands in awe, “I didn’t think I could do that, wow!” She laughs. He steps up and joins her, they stand next to the pool, looking down at it and watching as the steam swirls and surrounds them at the brim.

“I really hope so, because that didn’t feel too nice!” He exclaims, brushing the dust off his knees. “So, what is this place, you were saying that you know this place, that someone you knew protected it?” He asks, looking puzzled. She smiles back at him, and then takes his hand, pulling him down the stairs into the room below. She takes him in front of the mural of her mother and father, herself as a baby in hand, and Bow gasps. “No way! King Micah and Queen Angella, and is that…” He looks over to her and she nods, “It’s me. My father built this place for me when I was born with magic. He wanted a place for us to be able to practice magic together, just as he used to in Mystacor with Shadow Weaver. But he never got to it because…”

“The war with the Horde?” Bow asks, his face turning down, “Yeah…” She replies.

“They look so much younger in the mural, but it’s beautiful,” Bow looks back over to Glimmer who seems to be stuck staring at the mural, “Are you okay Glim?” She looks down at her feet quietly, and then back up at the mural of her mother, and deciding she’s going to be okay, “Yeah, I’ll be okay I just miss her you know.” He nods, then grabs her shoulder giving it a squeeze, “ I know Glim, I miss her too, she was an amazing Queen and even better mother.” Glimmer smiles and then turns from the mural, back towards the stairs. “I think my dad deserves to see this, his creation lasted through a whole war and his banishment, I can’t wait to see his face, I can’t wait to start training with him.” Bow follows her lead and replies, “I bet he’ll be so happy, and Glimmer, you’re going to be the strongest sorceress Etheira has ever seen.”


	5. Vultak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpia and Wrong Hordak discuss pronouns and names on their way to scout the area around Bright Moon. The two clash into a group Scorpia never thought she'd see again.

Scorpia and Wrong Hordak walk side by side on the path through the woods, both gazing around at the newly restored forest, much different than they had ever seen before. For Wrong Hordak, he had never seen much of the Whispering Woods at all, as he had spent the good majority of whatever life he was living before on Horde Prime’s ship, floating from planet to planet in space.

“My brother,” he addresses Scorpia, “the gathering of trees is wonderful, pure, unlike everything Horde Prime had said it was. This place is not evil, it's...beautiful.”

Scorpia frowns at him, realizing he has a lot more to learn than she had originally thought, “You know, you don’t have to call everyone your brother, I mean technically you’re surrounded by princesses all the time so most of us would be your sister,” she says, looking at the trail ahead of them. Adora had sent them on a scouting mission to check on the status of potential Horde occupation around the area of Bright Moon. The Rebellion had caught word of a potential fleet of Horde soldiers near the fortress from some of the local townsfolk. Adora had wanted to make sure that it was clear for King Micah, Swiftwind, and Frosta to return to the castle before she left the planet.

Wrong Hordak looks puzzled, “But nobody else has declined to be called brother, maybe they are indifferent?”

Scorpia sighs, and places a pincer on his shoulder, “Maybe not so much indifferent, but more used to you calling them brother. But there has never been a better time to learn than now!” She exclaims, dropping her arm back to her side. He just looks at her, blinking his green eyes slowly, so she explains. “So, everyone who exists has a set of something called pronouns. They are based upon how the person identifies and who they are, it has nothing to do with looks. For example, someone may look like their pronouns are one set or another but may identify under completely different pronouns.”

Wrong Hordak’s eyes grow wide as he takes in the information, “Oh, have I mistaken my brother’s pronouns?” Scorpia shakes her head, “Not exactly, you didn’t know any better, however, my brothers may indicate that the people you’re addressing are male and use he/his pronouns, which a lot of us don’t. Maybe a better word to use would be people, or friends? Yeah, friends! We are your friends!” She shouts excitedly.

“My friend?” He asks, she nods, “That’s it!” She smiles, happy that caught on so easily.

“So when you’re addressing a single person, they each have their own unique set of pronouns, like Perfuma for example goes by she and hers, I asked her the other day. And Bow, he goes by he and his! While I… I mean I’m not really picky, but I’ve gone by she and hers my entire life so I am pretty impartial!”

Wrong Hordak looks confused again, “You can have more than one?”

Scorpia chuckles, then pats Wrong Hordak on the back, “Yeah, of course! What about you? Have you thought about what you’d like to go by?”

He looks at her as if he’s thinking really deep, and then says, “I think he is okay? Is that okay?” She smiles at him, “He is just fine. What about your name though, we’ve been calling you Wrong Hordak all this time but we never asked you what you would like to be called!” Entrapta had given him that name after mistaking him as Hordak, and it had stuck, but now with Hordak back, it seemed weird to them to keep calling him Wrong Hordak.

“I never had a name my friend, I have always been a clone of Horde Prime, he did not see fit to give us names because in the hive, we were all one, but Horde Prime lied to us, maybe I am deserving of my own name?” He asks.

“Of course you are, you’re a part of the team now, and Wrong Hordak just seems weird to call you now that Hordak is back, there’s nothing wrong with having your own name!”

He scratches his head as if to think, then raises a finger to the air. “I know! I will call myself Brother, is that not a name for someone with my pronouns?”

Scorpia gives a quizzical smile, “Uhh, maybe something more unique? I mean names can be anything but…”

“You do not like that name?” He asks, she shakes her head, “Uhh, it just really does not fit you,” she smiles weakly, her eyes shrinking. She thinks for a moment, “What about Vultak? That name sounds familiar somehow, but fitting for you!”

He scratches his chin for a moment, pondering, then repeats the name out loud, “Vultak… Vul-tak, hmmm. Yes, I think this name will be fitting my friend! From now on I will be called Vultak, I will be my own person with my own name! Take that Horde Prime!” He shoots a fist into the air. Scorpia laughs, and then Vultak joins her, she can’t wait until they return to camp later so she can introduce everyone to the reinvented version of Wrong Hordak. It only felt right to introduce him to his own form of individuality, after all, he was his own person now that he had been separated from the Horde hive mind, and Horde Prime. And everyone is deserving of their own unique sense of individuality. 

* * *

The two finally make it to the outskirts of Theymor by the time the sun is settling down between the trees, casting long shadows of themselves on the ground in front of them. It had taken them a good portion of the day to walk, and Scorpia had only wished about 100 times that they had a skiff or a tank to ride in like they used to have when she was back with the Horde. That would have cut the travel time in half.

Scorpia is just about to walk through the tree cover into the town when she spots movement by one of the houses, and ducks back in, holding out an arm to stop Vultak. “My friend, what is it?” He asks out loud. Scorpia looks back at him and brings a pincer to her face, shushing him, “quiet! I think it might be the Horde soldiers Adora was talking about!” He looks puzzled, “But are we-” she cuts him off, grabbing his lip with her claw-like hand, holding his mouth shut. “Quiet! We don’t want them to know we’re here yet! We have to strategize!”

“But are we not wearing the uniform of the Horde as well?” He asks, more quiet, looking down at his white suit, the grey Horde symbol adorn across his chest.

But it’s too late, the bushes they’re hiding in fly open, and over top of them stands three Horde soldiers in full body armor, stun batons pointed down at them, arcing green electricity.

Scorpia gulps, then raises her arms up in surrender, Vultak notices and follows along with her lead. “Yeah that’s right traitor, keep 'em up!” Scorpia hears a familiar voice say, but she can’t quite distinguish who it is through the muffled helmet. The soldier in the middle tucks their baton away at the waist, and then lifts their helmet up from the bottom.

Scorpia gasps when she sees the familiar brown dreads, and realizes that the voice had belonged to Lonnie, her old squadmate. The other two soldiers put away their batons and lift their helmets to reveal themselves as Kyle and Rojelio, who both lift a hand in greeting.

Lonnie offers out a hand to Scorpia who takes it, stepping to her feet, Vultak stands next to them. “I thought I heard you over here, I could pick out your voice from anywhere!” Lonnie explains, “we had to keep our guard up around these parts before Horde Prime was defeated, a lot of the Horde crew from back in the Fright Zone knew we defected so we’ve had to stay in disguise to stay safe.”

Scorpia sighs a breath of relief, “Oh thank god it’s just you guys, I thought we’d found Horde stragglers and they were about to take us as prisoners!” She exclaims. “What are you guys doing back here anyway, I thought you were going to the Crimson Waste?”

Lonnie shakes her head, “Nah, once we heard about the whole Horde Prime world ending thing, we decided to head back out here, we wouldn’t have been any use in the Waste. It felt right to at least try and help, that’s what one of my favorite old force captains would have done at least,” she gives a slight smile, a turn of her lip to Scorpia, then rests her helmet between her arm and torso.

“Oh man that must have been a pretty brave force captain to help fight against Horde Prime,” Scorpia laughs nervously, rubbing at the back of their neck.

Lonnie scoffs, then reaches out to pat Scorpia on the arm, “Yeah Scorpia, it was you.” Lonnie says matter-of-factly, Scorpia just stands there, mouth open, “Wait, really? You guys came back to help because of me?” she asks, her eyes growing wide, Kyle pipes in “You were my favorite force captain too! I mean, I didn’t really keep favorites, but we wanted to do our part in the battle for Etheria!” He exclaims with his shaky voice. Rojelio nods his head in agreement, giving an affirmative grunt.

Scorpia’s eyes glisten at the praise, it wasn’t too often that she was the reason for anyone doing anything. “Wow, you guys really are great friends,” She replies, pulling all three into a giant hug.

When they all pull away, Lonnie looks over to Vultak who is standing behind Scorpia, unsure of what to do or say. “So, is this one part of your disguise then?” She asks, motioning over to him. Vultak realizes she’s pointing at him and then points toward himself, “Me? No, my friend, I am Vultak, friend of Scorpia and the Rebellion. I once served Horde Prime, but I was misguided.” He bows toward them, they all raise their eyebrows, but then shake their heads.

“Righttt,” Lonnie says apprehensively, evidentially never having seen a clone that has the ability to freely think. Vultak did not blame them, he did not know of any others like him besides Hordak. “Nice to meet you?” Lonnie phrases the greeting as a question.

“It is nice to meet you as well my friends,” Vultak says, bowing slightly before them. Scorpia laughs, then puts her arm around Vultak, pushing him forward toward the group, “How rude of me! Vultak, these are my friends from the Horde, Lonnie, Kyle, and Rojelio! We all used to be a part of the same squad but then they left the Horde just like you!”

Lonnie looks to the side and frowns, “Yeah, for a multitude of reasons…”

Scorpia smiles nervously, she remembered why they had left and wondered how Lonnie would feel knowing Catra was still alive and helping the Rebellion. Lonnie and Catra had never gotten along but toward the end of their time together in the Fright Zone, Catra had been especially horrible to them. Maybe they would be able to forgive like Scorpia had, but understood if they didn’t want to.

Vultak frowns when he sees Lonnie’s face, “The Horde did not treat you well either? Horde Prime lies, it is no surprise to me that you wanted to leave.” Kyle rubs at the back of his neck, “Yeah, sort of that, but also, we got tired of doing what everyone else thought was right, even when we didn’t,” he shrugs and offers, “that and life has already been a whole lot better outside of the Fright Zone!” He pulls an apple out of one of his pockets, “can you believe this stuff just, _grows_ out here!? It’s not grey and blob-like!”

Lonnie interrupts, “So anyway, what _are_ you guys doing out here? I know you left to go help the Rebellion, where are they now? They’re not going to jump out of the woods and make us their prisoners, are they?” she says peering around Scorpia, and into the woods behind them.

Scorpia shakes her head, “The Rebellion doesn’t take prisoners, not like the Horde used to, and they’re not evil like they taught us in the Horde. I don’t know how much you’ve learned since you’ve been away, but we were kind of the bad guys in the Horde…” she says, looking down at her feet.

Lonnie keeps a straight and smug face, “Yeah, we’ve kind of started to catch that drift, though we haven’t been too sure about the whole princess thing either, I don’t know if I could trust them.”

Scorpia chuckles, patting Lonnie on the back. Lonnie tumbles forward a bit, Scorpia seems to always forget how large and powerful she is. “Trust the princesses? We all saved Etheria! You don’t have to worry about us! Most of us are harmless, well… maybe not Frosta, she kind of really likes to punch things, it’s a little...cold.”

Lonnie crosses her arms, “Wait, we? What do you mean we?”

Scorpia looks side to side nervously, “Uhh, I guess you guys never took me seriously when I told everyone I was a princess? Man, nobody believed me did they? Geeze, I guess I gotta do a better job at being believable!”

Kyle interjects, “So you were a princess and a force captain?” his eyes get wide, “cool!"

Rojelio taps Lonnie and grunts a few words to her, Lonnie looks back to Scorpia and Vultak, “So, if they aren’t here waiting to ambush us, where are they all?” she says coldly, adjusting her stance slightly. Scorpia can tell she’s on edge and can’t blame her, the Horde had conditioned them all to be hypervigilant.

Vultak speaks up this time, “My friends, our leader has sent us here to make sure the Horde would not ambush us, you are safe.” 

“Your leader? I thought the Rebellion was made up of a bunch of princesses who just willy-nilly go all over Etheria and stop the Horde. You mean that short girl, what’s her name, sparkle? The one you were with when we left the Horde?”

Scorpia laughs loudly, slapping at her knee, “Sparkle?! HAH! Oh man that is funny, has anyone ever told you you’re funny Lonnie, oh wait… I guess I just did.”

Lonnie rolls her eyes, “Whatever, you know what I mean.” 

“I mean Glimmer is the Queen of Bright Moon, but Adora is more or less in charge right now,” Scorpia replies, shrugging, “she’s the most qualified out of all of us, she saved the whole planet, that and she’s sort of an 8 foot tall warrior sword lady if you haven’t figured that out already.” 

Lonnie scoffs, “Go figure, Adora always was the golden child back in the Fright Zone, of course she got to be the hero, as always,” she rolls her eyes. Scorpia can sense a tinge of resentment just by her facial expressions and the tone of her voice. Maybe Lonnie wasn’t entirely against Adora, but Catra’s resentment towards her while she was their force captain had seemed to rub off on her. 

“You know, Adora may have gotten a lot of the praise and approval from the big guys in the Fright Zone, but I don’t think she ever asked for any of this, just like none of us asked to be born into the Horde, or born as a giant scorpion lady with pincers for hands,” Scorpia says, looking down at her large clunky hands and frowning. She could relate to Adora a bit, she knew how overwhelmed Adora had been since the battle. Adora had never put herself in the position of leadership, she had more than anything been put there by all of them in an unconscious but unanimous fashion.

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter,” Lonnie says, “We want to help rebuild Etheria, we’ve seen all the ruin and all the mess the Horde made, and it’s our planet too.” 

Scorpia grins, “Really? it could be like old times, you, me, Kyle and Rojelio, oh and you of course Vultak!” She adds, turning towards him. The tall clone figure beams at his recognition.

“Yeah, yeah,” Lonnie says, “We don’t have to be all sentimental and everything.” Rojelio grunts behind her, “Even Rojelio over here is trying to forget about that life we had back there, it was toxic.”

Scorpia nods solemnly, remembering the emotional distress she always seemed to be in back in the Fright Zone. She never seemed to fit in, but was somehow good enough to be a force captain. Things never added up to her. She always imagined they had maybe made her force captain because they knew that she was aware of her own past and all the things the Horde had done to her family and kingdom. That’s just what the Horde did.

She frowns at the memory, “Yeah, it was toxic, wasn’t it?” She says quietly. Lonnie and Rojelio both nod quietly in agreement, all three reflect on their own experiences. They’re all caught up in some sort of emotional moment when Kyle interrupts, “So, uh, does this mean we’re part of the Rebellion now or?”

Lonnie whips herself around and glares at him, Kyle shrinks down and grins nervously. _Wow, he reacts almost as if it had been Catra there instead of Lonnie, cowering down as if she was about to hit him._ Scorpia thinks to herself, worried how the three will react finding Catra is in fact very much alive and with the Rebellion.

“No! Kyle, it does not mean we’re part of the princesses and their rebellion!” she shouts, the word _“princesses”_ spilling from her mouth like venom. Kyle winces slightly, his hand posed in front of his face weakly. “It means we’re helping Etheria as Etherians, and that’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Lonnie turns back toward Scorpia, her face hard, lips curled slightly. Scorpia’s mouth is still hung open from the exchange, she hadn’t seen Lonnie explode like that in a while. Lonnie repeats herself, “We are not here to pledge any sort of allegiance to your little rebellion like you and Adora did, we’re just here to help out.”

Scorpia gives Lonnie a nervous smile, crossing her arms in front of her face, “Ooh, no of course not, just help, got it. Maybe you could help us, on the side of course, if you don’t want to get involved in the Rebellion? If you even could call it a rebellion anymore, seeing we’re not really rebelling against anyone… hmm, I have to bring that up at our next meeting…” Scorpia rambles, then remembers the conversation they were having with Lonnie. “Yeah so I think I know how you can help us without being a part of the Rebellion.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thanks for holding on for this chapter, life has been busy but here it is! Planning on releasing 6/7 as well this week! This one is a bit of a short one but I enjoy brining all the characters back together. And yes I'm aware that the little imp thing is not with them and idc lmao I don't like it


	6. Mara

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora meets with Razz to discuss her destiny now that the war is over. Adora makes some very important realizations and relives some moments that her predecessor had.

Adora crosses through the camp, taking a visual stock of everything, everyone seeming at peace, preparing for their next adventure. Bow and Glimmer had set off into the Whispering Woods to look for the best route back to Bright Moon now that the forest had grown back full force, while Scorpia and Wrong Hordak had gone to clear the route from any potential Horde soldiers remaining.

She catches a glimpse of King Micah and his sister, Glimmer’s Aunt Castaspella, chatting while he stands the fire-watch, probably catching up after their many years apart. Frosta is sat at a table on one end, drawing, and Netossa and Spinerella had started to strategize how they would help the towns around the area on the other end.

Seahawk and Mermista had been rather inseparable since the battle, and sat by a fire laughing and discussing one of Mermista’s favorite things, mystery, and how they would get away with the perfect crime, arson.

Perfuma is sitting with Catra on the other side of the camp, they both look very into whatever conversation or session they are having. Perfuma had been helping everyone with finding their own versions of peace and acceptance after everything. Adora was more than happy to see Catra take her up on the help, though she wished she had the time to do so herself.

There was a lot that Adora had on her mind still after the battle, a lot that she didn’t feel like putting onto Catra, who was trying to heal herself. She had a lot to do now that pretty much everyone looked up to her as their leader of sorts, but today all those things would have to wait. Today she had someone very important to see, and she knew that in her absence, King Micah was more prepared than she ever was to call the shots and make decisions for her.

She ducks back into the tent, and pulls on her favorite red jacket, the one with the broad shoulders and popped up collar, cinching it up in the middle with her belt. She adjusts the shoulder pads, then laughs to herself when she thinks of how Catra has verbally expressed her dislike of her outfit, wishing that she would change it up for once. Adora likes her outfit though, it's familiar, comfortable, and at this point, a part of who she is. She doesn’t feel as confident when she’s without the jacket, or when her hair isn’t up like it almost always is. Catra had vowed to her that once they returned to Bright Moon, she’d talk her into switching it up, but Adora was pretty confident that she wouldn’t be getting rid of the jacket, much less the white turtleneck that always accompanied it. Catra would just have to suck it up and accept her the way she was, plus, once they left Etheria, they all would be wearing their space suits a whole lot more anyway.

Adora steps back outside of the tent, then gives a glance over towards Catra, who is still busy with Perfuma still. Good. She knows that if Catra saw her leave, that she would try to join her, and this was something she had to do by herself.

She quietly slips behind the tent, and into the Whispering Woods before anyone can see her, pushing the tree branches out of her face as she sets off towards her destination. She’s been there many times, but this time is different, this time she doesn’t need to ask how to save the world, but about how to deal with saving the world, and what comes after. Where she should have clarity and peace in the days following the battle, she’s been alone in her head, and at war with her thoughts, struggling to make sense of her purpose, and the newfound lack of common enemy.

It had seemed that Adora’s whole life she had spent training excessively to defeat an enemy or a force, that she had worked so hard to prove that she was a force to be reckoned with, and to become better than she ever had been before. But now with Horde Prime gone, and the remainder of the Horde fleeing or joining their side, there seemed to be nothing left to fight but the silence and her own thoughts. Now everyone looked to her as powerful and strong She-Ra, savior of Etheira for advice and plans. But in reality, Adora herself had no idea what came next or what the right decisions were. She had always followed some pre-arranged destiny, whether in the Horde as force captain, or as She-Ra, chasing a legacy that Mara had set for her. And now it all seemed to boil down to her own decisions as Adora, not as anyone else.

She makes her way through the woods, jumping over little creeks, and gazing in amazement at the glowing vines that covered the trees, illuminating the ground under the thick cover of the trees. She couldn't be too far now, the terrain begins to look more and more familiar, she has to be getting close.

She’s climbing over an overgrown tree root, admiring the small gatherings of pink crystals that have started to grow amongst the twists in the trees, when she hears a large rustling ahead of her. She freezes, listening in, whatever it is, it sounds large and she can hear heavy breathing and grunts.

“Hello?” she calls out, but nothing replies, everything is silent. She sighs out a breath of relief, when all of a sudden she hears pounding footsteps, more than one set, almost sounding like a horse galloping, but much larger. Whatever it is, it's bridging the gap between them, and charging right at her. Her eyes grow wide with fear as she ducks down behind the tree root.

The branches burst open above her, and she watches in horror as a gigantic creature, a tan blur, jumps over her and the root, sending small pieces and clumps of dirt and rock showering down onto her.

It lands with a thud on the ground, and Adora gets a full look at it. It’s a massive elemental type creature, resembling a boar, but also some of the large rocks she'd seen laying around the forest floor, covered in moss and plants. It’s light tan with cream colored lines accenting it’s body, two pointy ears peeking out from the top of it’s head, two sets of large white tusks protruding from its mouth, and three sets of eyes? One large set and two smaller stacked on the top and bottom. It’s cute but terrifying all at the same time. It stares at Adora for a second before opening its mouth, roaring at her with a deafening volume.

It starts to dig one foot into the ground, kicking up dirt behind it, about to charge right at her. Adora braces herself up with the tree root, and then hesitates, before thrusting her arm out in front of her, closing her eyes in concentration. For a second what appears to be specks of energy fizzle in her hand, and then as she focuses, a light flashes, and her sword appears, hilt in hand.

She thrusts the tip towards the sky, “FOR THE HONOR OF GREYSKULL!” She shouts out.

There’s another flash, her regular clothing warps into a white suit, with golden accents, her arms now covered with gold bracers, her legs with golden leg guards. On top of her white over-shirt, a golden chest piece appears, the shoulder pads accentuating her muscular arms. On top of her head, a golden head piece with a red runestone in the middle, and two small gold wings protrude above her now longer and lighter blonde hair, which flows in the wind, along with her red lined cape.

The girl glows with a magic aura, now almost as tall as the boar is, she faces it, the tip of her sword pointed at it as it charges. She stares it face down as it gets closer and closer, no longer scared of it in her She-Ra form, a confident smirk on her face. She throws the sword up over her head, ready to strike the creature, when all of a sudden she hears a woman scream, “Stop!”

She immediately recognizes the voice of Madame Razz, as she watches the woman throw herself between her and the boar pushing her arm out, hand palm out between them. Adora looks on in fear as the boar gets within feet of the woman, but then halts itself, skidding to a stop just inches in front of her. A cloud of dust envelops them, and Adora looks from the woman to the boar, which is now backing off her slightly, it’s entire behavior changed from aggressive to tame in less than 30 seconds.

Adora’s eyes are probably as wide as they can get, “Razz?” she asks.

The old woman looks back at her through her purple framed glasses, a look of care in her eyes. “Adora dearie, have you learned nothing from me?”

Adora looks at her in confusion as the boar grunts, thrusting it’s head. “Razz, what do you mean?”

Razz shakes her head, and then gives the boar a pat on its snout, “It feels like it was just yesterday that I had to teach Mara this lesson, these creatures are like you, they’re magic! She-Ra is not supposed to hurt, but protect Etheria’s magic!” The woman takes Adora’s hand, and stretches it out toward the boar. Adora gasps when she touches it’s head, enveloping them both in a golden glow. “See?” the woman says, “you cannot control or defeat magic… magic simply is!” The boar grunts again softly, then turns away from them back toward the woods. Adora can see two smaller versions of it emerging from the wood, and she gasps. "It was only trying to protect its young ones," the old woman finishes.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t even think about that I-” Razz interrupts, a small chuckle emerging from her thin and wrinkled mouth, “Dearie, it’s okay, you and Mara are more alike than you’ll ever know.”

Adora frowns when she thinks about Mara, and the last message from her that she’d seen on Darla. She shifts back to herself, her jacket and grey leggings replacing her glowing She-Ra getup. “Mara…” she says quietly.

Razz closes her eyes briefly, then grabs Adora’s hand, giving it a squeeze, “Oh Adora, our Mara would be so proud of you.” The old woman looks to the sky, “Adora, you brought the stars back, you saved Etheria. You did it.”

Adora shakes her head, then looks at the ground, thinking about the hologram message that Mara had left her, how everyone thought she was crazy and unhinged. She had made the ultimate sacrifice to save Etheria. “But I’m still here Razz, and I still have all this power as She-Ra, and now everyone knows it and expects me to have some sort of answer to everything, just because I’m She-Ra. I don’t feel like I’ve done anything more special or more worthy of their respect that Mara ever did, and they all thought she was crazy.”

Razz shakes her head, and pulls her along as they start to walk through the forest. “Adora, everyone called Mara crazy because they did not realize that the power she possessed was within herself, but you know this now do you not?”

Adora looks over to the woman confused and shrugs, “Do I?" Everything still seemed confusing to Adora, a lot of the things she could do, she did not know how she did them, or how to do them again. She wasn't even a hundred percent sure how she was able to turn into She-Ra again, though she figured it had something to do with her obligation to protect her friends and those she loved.

Razz looks back to her and their eyes meet, “You do not possess the sword any longer, right?”

Adora’s eyes grow wide with realization, she flashes back to speaking with Mara while she was at the heart. _“Your sacrifice won’t be in vain, I promise,” Adora says while looking down, her eyes closing as she speaks to Mara._

_The two are both in their own forms of She-Ra, overlooking Etheria on the edge of a cliff. “But at what cost?” Mara asks, staring straight out._

_Adora gasps, her eyes reopening. “I never wanted to die,” Mara continues, “I sacrificed myself so that you would never have to, why are you doing this Adora?” She asks, turning back toward her, a sadness in her eyes._

_“It’s better this way, my friends will be safe! They’ll be happy!” Adora replies, stress and sadness contorting her face._

_“-And you?” Mara asks, placing a hand on her cheek, “-What do you want when this is all over?”_

She remembers the internal confusion, between love and destiny, balance, and connections, the sadness at the realization that saving her friends may mean that Adora would be no more, and that somehow she might be okay with that.

_“I- it doesn’t matter. I’m She-Ra. This is what I’m supposed to do.”_

She remembers the vision glitching as more of Prime’s evil corrupts Etheira, the vision wavering and buzzing as Mara grabs both of her hands, giving her a weak smile.

_“You’re worth more than what you can give to other people. You deserve love too.”_

Adora’s mind returns to the present, Razz is staring at her. “I-it’s always has been within me hasn’t it… all that I was missing was the love that I wasn’t letting myself have,” her eyes grow wide in realization, the reason she had finally been able to transform back into She-Ra after destroying the sword was not destiny or fate, it was the love that she had finally let herself freely accept and give, the connection she had with her friends and with Catra.

Razz smiles at her, “See Adora, Mara felt like she had failed because she finally let herself feel love as both herself and as She-Ra, you fulfilled that legacy.”

Adora smiles for a moment, then her lip curls downward again, “Okay but what about now, I’ve fulfilled Mara’s legacy, and saved the planet, and gotten the love I’ve always deserved, but what comes after Razz? What does She-Ra do now?” She asks in almost a pleading tone, not that Razz had ever given her a direct answer anyway, but she asked in wishful thinking.

“Oh Dearie, you shouldn’t ask Razz what She-Ra should do now, but what Adora should do. You are powerful, and you will do the right things, even if you do not know what they are, starting with today!” The woman races in front of her, and Adora starts to jog, struggling to keep up with her. _How is she thousands of years old but so fast!_ She thinks to herself, heaving as she hops over logs and ducks around trees just to trail behind her.

“Razz that doesn’t help! I know I’m supposed to restore all these planets, but what about me? What am I supposed to do, how do I meet my destiny? How do I know when I have?”

Razz slows down slightly so that Adora can catch up, and then ducks into her little house, hidden amongst the trees. Adora follows her in, and watches as the old lady digs amongst her things, throwing random objects behind her. “Hmmm, somewhere...where did Madame Razz put it…” she mumbles to herself as Adora ducks and dodges things behind her.

“AH-HAH!” she exclaims, pulling something out from a pile. Razz turns to Adora, holding in her hand a small piece of paper, rolled up and tied in the middle with a piece of string. “Razz has been saving this for you Adora, for this moment.”

Adora’s eyes grow wide as she grabs the roll into her own hands, then pulls at one end of the string, letting it fall to the ground. She can see writing on the inside, and opens the piece of paper, weathered, but still in one piece, to reveal a page full of first ones writing, her own name written on the top. She gasps, “Mara wrote this, for me?” she asks, Razz nods, “She told me to give this to you when you saved Etheria, she knew you would Dearie.”

She starts to read the letter, _“Adora, If you’re reading this, you’ve done it. You’ve made it further than I ever did and saved Etheria. Maybe I saved it for a while, but I sacrificed myself so that you would never have to. I did it to save Etheria from the First Ones, the creators of the sword, to ensure that even after I was gone, Etheira would still have a shot with you as the next She-Ra. I did it out of love, after our creators told me that being loved and being She-Ra was not possible, that I was merely alive to fulfil a destiny that I had no control over. You’re like me, you’ve been told this before, and now that everything is over, you must realize that you being She-Ra has nothing to do with destiny, but everything to do with who you are as a person and those you love that have gotten you this far. I’m running out of time to write, I have to go soon, I have to do this, but I need you to know Adora that you’ve more than fulfilled my legacy, if I even have one. I know that nobody will think of me as a hero for this, but I’m doing this so that they’ll think that of you. I was never supposed to be the girl that saved Etheira once and for all, I was never supposed to succeed, but you are Adora, and I believe in you. I want you to set the record straight, to show Etheria that the First Ones are not the heroes they painted themselves out to be, as I’m sure you’ve figured out already. That the Heart of Etheria project was nothing more than a ploy to use She-Ra and the magic they didn’t understand and respect as a weapon. You’re probably like me, wondering what your entire purpose is now that you’ve done the one thing you were destined to do, save the planet. And this is what I’m here to tell you Adora.”_

Adora gasps as she reads the next line, visions of her last conversation with Mara echoing through her head again.

_“You’re worth more than what you can give to other people. You deserve love too! That is what powers She-Ra. Not the First Ones, not some destiny that you have no control over, but the love that you give and receive freely. She-Ra is you, and you are She-Ra. From now on you paint your own destiny freely, you will leave the largest legacy as Adora, Princess of Power, and I couldn’t be more proud of you. I have to go now Adora, but there is one last thing I ask of you. You will guide the next She-Ra after you, the next protector of Etheria and defender of Despondos, as I have done for you. Just as I have left messages for you, you will need to do so for the next, thus recording over the messages I left. I know, it’s sad, but be strong Adora. I will always be there with you, in your heart, and in your mind. You’ve become the person you were always meant to be, and now it’s time for my destiny and legacy to come to an end. Goodbye Adora, savior of Etheria. You have made me proud. -Mara “_

Adora looks up at Razz, tears welling in her eyes as she grips the edges of the letter in both hands. “Mara…” she whispers.

She steps to the doorway of Razz’s shack, then looks to the stars, all twinkling in the universe of Despondos. Something that she hadn’t seen until now, something she was grateful to Mara for. All possible because of the sacrifice that the woman before her had made. She knew what she had to do now, as both She-Ra and Adora.

She wipes at the tears with the sleeve of her shirt, and gives Razz a big hug. Razz hugs her back, “Mara will always live on here-” she pokes her boney finger into Adora’s chest. “But it’s time she left us, it’s time she finally felt the peace you brought back to Etheria.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I really enjoyed writing this chapter as I feel like the relationship between Adora and Mara is really brought out here. I definitely cried writing this and making the connections between S4 E9: Hero, as well as S5 E12: Heart Pt. 1. I really really love Mara and her character arc and so I hope you all forgive me for this one. Also, we get some more character arc for Adora here so yay to that? You're doing your best Adora, don't worry :,)


	7. Return To Bright Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Best Friend Squad with King Micah, Frosta, and Entrapta en-tow return to Bright Moon for the first time since the battle.

“Soo, Dad,” Glimmer begins, bounding up to her father who is helping pack up the Alliance camp. He looks over to her as he ties the string on a bedroll, attaching it to his pack. Glimmer feels herself nearly shaking with excitement. Even after all this time her father had been gone, she’d have something to relate to him with, something to connect over.

“Glimmer, oh good you two are back! Can you guys give me a hand packing up a few more things, we’re heading back to Bright Moon!” She drops to her knees, and starts to roll up another bedroll, “Yeah I heard when we arrived back to camp, but dad, I have even more exciting news, you’re not going to believe it!” He pauses what he’s doing, “Really? Is it a way to teleport all 10 of us back to the castle?” He chuckles.

She shakes her head, even at full power she would not be able to transport 10 people more than a few feet, but she appreciated the fact that her dad thought she was that powerful. “No, we’ll have to walk still, buttt, guess what I found?”

“A shortcut?”

“No…”

“a Horde tank we could ride there?”

“No, but not a bad thought.”

He shrugs, “well then “I’m plain out of ideas kiddo, I was really riding on that last one.”

Glimmer nearly floats over to her father, and grabs his arms at the elbow, he looks up from what he was doing at her. “Dad, I found the training circle you made for me before you left, it’s still there in one piece, the Horde didn’t get to it after all this time!” Micah just stares at her, his mouth aghast. “Dad?” She asks, cocking her head at him, she had been expecting more excitement or at least some sort of reaction from him.

“Sorry, I just-” He pauses momentarily, the shock still on his face. Glimmer can tell something is bothering him, she almost regrets telling him. “I just can’t believe that place is still there after all this time… it’s been so long…”

Glimmer’s face changes from excitement to concern, she’s unsure if she should say anything but she decides to anyway, “Dad, are you alright? Something seems to be bothering you.” He shakes his head, giving a slight frown, “No, it’s okay, it’s just, I have a lot of memories at that place, a lot with your mother. We spent a lot of time there. I just miss her…” He trails off, then looks away, “I thought coming back would be a lot different is all,” he sighs. “I thought Angella would be here waiting for me, god she was so brave, my Angella.”

Glimmer can hear his voice waiver slightly, she’s struck a chord in him, when she was just trying to share something she thought was exciting. She frowns, she missed Angella too, more than she would have ever guessed she would. She couldn’t even imagine being gone for so many years, living a life in danger, just to come home finally and realize the love of your life had sacrificed herself for Etheria. She felt like her mother had been cheated from seeing her father again, it made her heart ache thinking about it.

“She missed you so much Dad… she never let anyone sit in your chair in the war room, she talked about you every day, she loved you so much…” Glimmer can feel the tears welling up under her eyelids again but she sniffs them back. She wants to stay strong, in fear that she might lose it if her father starts to cry. Not that he wasn’t allowed to cry, but that she had always seen him as the strong one, the powerful sorcerer. He had survived years on Beast Island. She knew it wasn’t fair to see him in such a perfect and in-human image, but it helped her keep calm when she otherwise wanted to break down, or give up.

He smiles weakly, she can see his eyes water “She was lucky to have such an amazingly strong daughter by her side,” he muses, “I can see so much of her in you Glimmer.”

She scoffs quietly to herself, thinking how she had spent years growing up, getting grounded, talking back, thinking she never wanted to be like Angella. They always made up after every stupid argument, always apologized, but Glimmer wished she could go back and take all those dumb words she’d said back. “You definitely inherited her attitude,” he laughs.

She recalls her mother meeting her every word with the same intensity, countering every point with a valid one of her own, chasing Glimmer through the Bright Moon castle as soon as she was old enough to teleport. Angella certainly had been a fiery woman, and Glimmer figured she was following in her footsteps pretty well, as much as she would always try to prove she was nothing like the woman. She missed that bond they had, how no matter how many arguments they would get into, no matter how many mistakes Glimmer would make as Commander, that Angella would always welcome her back into her arms in forgiveness. She was the best mom Glimmer could have ever asked for, she hoped she was filling in her larger than life footprints as queen the best she could, she was trying her damndest.

She smiles back, “I do everything with her in mind, not a day goes by where I don’t miss her, she was the best mom.”

The room stays silent for a moment, until finally Micah pulls his pack closed, and groans as her stands at his feet. He pulls Glimmer into a hug, patting the back of her head softly. Glimmer can feel how tense he is at first, as if he is still getting used to affection and human contact, but then his grip loosens and he relaxes. “I’m so proud of you, Queen Glimmer, and Angella would be too. You're doing great things for Bright Moon and Etheria.”

Glimmer stays there for a second, enjoying the closeness, and then they pull back, “Thanks dad. I’m sorry I mentioned the circle, I didn’t realize it would bring back so many memories, I was excited because I realized where I was after Bow and I found all your runes.”

He chuckles, “Ah, yes, and the guardian spell too I assume?” She laughs back, nodding her head, “Yeah… Bow kind of figured it out for me.” They laugh together, Micah places a hand on her shoulder and gives her a warm look, “I promise when you guys get back from restoring all the planets, we’ll go out there together and train, just like your mother and I had always intended, you’re going to be an even stronger sorceress than I am.” She gives him a nod, beaming at his compliment, “I can’t wait dad.” 

* * *

“I can’t believe I’m actually going to go live in a princess castle with you, you know, before we go become planet saving astronauts or whatever they’re called?” Catra chuckles to herself, “If you would have told me that a few months ago I would have told you to get lost.” Melog comes up from behind her and and shoves their head into her hand lovingly, Catra gives them a pat on the head.

Adora keeps pace with Catra, who is walking with her on their way back to Bright Moon. Glimmer and Bow are ahead of them, walking almost too close to each other, bumping into each other's bodies every few steps. Frosta is behind them, riding on Swift Wind, her legs too short to keep up with the rest of them for long distances. And King Micah leads the group, with Entrapta and Emily next to him, most likely chatting his ear off about their upcoming adventure. Castaspella had given them all a warm sendoff before their journey, heading back to take care of her royal matters as Mystacor, and the other groups had left on their own adventures as well.

Adora’s plan had started to go into action, and so far everything had gone smoothly. It had been such a long time since any of them had slept on anything other than a bed roll on the hard ground and Adora couldn’t wait to throw herself into her bed at the end of the night. She would even be okay with throwing herself into that too cushy bed that they had given to her when she first arrived at Bright Moon.

“Technically it’s more of a Queen’s castle now,” Adora says jokingly. Catra rolls her eyes, “you know what I mean, _princess,”_ she says, putting emphasis on the last part. She digs her elbow into Adora’s shoulder and pushes her a few feet to the side. Adora comes back at her full force, ramming into Catra, causing her to leap to the side to stay on her feet, an attack that would most definitely have had Adora on her ass.

“Hey! Just because you two like each other doesn’t mean you can beat each other up!” Glimmer shouts back at them, giving them a stern look. Catra rolls her eyes, then sticks her tongue out at the shorter girl when she turns back around, “Alright mom, I mean Sparkles.”

Adora grins slyly, “She would have hated to see us back when we were cadets, we were always playing around and getting into trouble,” she whispers to Catra. Catra huffs, remembering how they used to play-fight, herself always winning of course. And how she would always pretend to be more hurt than she really was to get the upper hand on Adora. But they rarely actually hurt each other and even if they did, they would comfort each other with endless mocking comments, well, maybe Catra did. Adora would always apologize, something that Catra had struggled with until recently.

Catra gazes over at Adora, watching her walk, her same blonde hair with the poof, her same ridiculous red jacket with the shoulder pads, her same everything as when they were cadets. But now she’s older, her once round cheeks now thinned and her jawline more defined. The blonde had a stronger frame now, her once skinny arms now muscular, her stature that of someone who has the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Catra’s always felt warm looking at her, but now everytime she looks, everytime their eyes meet, she feels the warmth of explosions in her stomach. Like...she didn’t even know what to call it, like maybe little tiny spiders crawling around in there? That’s always how she thought of it as a kid, she even felt it around Adora back then.

She can feel herself smiling like a fool, the corners of her lips turn upwards when Adora looks back over to her. She quickly looks away, but Adora seems to have noticed. Adora gives her that same cocky head tilt, and raises her eyebrows, “Were you just staring at me?” She asks, “Wow Catra, so all along this _has_ been because you like me huh? That’s pretty embarrassing for you.”

Catra can feel her cheeks growing red, “you’re such an idiot!” She spits out, stopping herself in the midst of speaking, hoping she didn’t sound too harsh or callus. Adora laughs, “says the one with a dumb grin on her face.” Catra rolls her eyes, and grabs Adora’s hand in her own, avoiding eye contact so she doesn’t have to keep blushing, but inside the spiders in her stomach or whatever are crawling all over.

Glimmer looks back again, looking at their hands, then back at them. Catra notices and quickly lets Adora's hand drop, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red.

“Soo...about the room situation seeing I already teleported Hordak into the jail…” Glimmer trails off, leaving the sentence open ended, like a suggestion. 

Adora corrects her, “You mean the spare room?” Glimmer scoffs, “spare room, jail, whatever, same thing right?”

Catra laughs, “Wait, you guys have a jail at Bright Moon, let me guess, it’s like the cutest, sparkliest jail cell ever? Do the prisoners get padded cell bars? Maybe a hand knitted blanket?”

Glimmer rolls her eyes, “No, we took out all the cushions! It’s not as cozy and cute as you think it is!” She turns back, crossing her arms. “It’s always the jail situation isn’t it?” She mumbles underneath her breath, rolling her eyes.

Catra chuckles to herself, then shrugs, “I mean I’ll sleep wherever you guys have room Sparkles, don’t sweat it.”

“You could sleep in my room.” Adora interjects quickly, a smirk on her face. “I mean if that’s okay with you, you totally don’t have to, I think we could find you your own room with personal space and-”

Catra interrupts Adora as she starts to ramble, she can see Adora’s face turning pink in the cheeks as she rubs at the back of her neck with a hand. “I’ve only been sleeping at the end of your bed nearly every night since we were cadets Adora…” Catra watches Adora in amusement as her face continues to grow red.

“Right but I dunno, I guess things are… different now?” Adora's eyes are wide, and nervously flash between Glimmer and Bow, and Catra. Catra giggles, letting out a little squeak, “Different? You’re cute.”

Glimmer scoffs, “Yeah, you two have only been sleeping next to each other for weeks now…”

Bow adds, “Not to mention that most nights you guys are almost too close to sleep comfortably, and Catra, you purr like superrr loud in your sleep, I’m glad I’ll finally get to sleep in a different room and get some sleep, no offense.”

Catra can feel her own face getting hot now, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says, crossing her arms and turning her head, "I don't do that." 

“Different like.. Well, you know…” Adora trails off. Catra smiles, god her embarrassed rambling is cute. It’s not like everyone didn’t know by now how close they’d gotten. Plus Bow and Glimmer were basically the same at this point, it was almost gag-worthy.

“ So that's settled then, looks like I’ll be sharing a room with Adora,” Catra says, shooting Adora a mischievous grin.

“Yeah I figured as much,” Glimmer shouts back, flicking her wrist outwards.

Adora gives Catra a death glare, her eyes wide in embarrassment, and Catra just giggles, “What, it’s not like it wasn’t going to happen that way anyway!” She shrugs. "We both know I'd end up moving into your room at some point anyway!" 

* * *

The group finally arrives at Bright Moon after a long and drawn out walk, Entrapta wanting to stop and collect Horde tech with every downed survey bot they came across. To which Bow would drag her back onto the trail, promising her that soon they would be in a universe of new tech and scientific discovery, on an expedition led by her. Her eyes had grown wide at the thought of endless discovery and never-ending tech.

For Micah, just watching Bright Moon appear over the horizon was bittersweet, and very surreal. He could not believe that after all this time he was finally returning home. Though Angella would not be there waiting for him, he felt better knowing that their new Queen, his daughter, had taken her place and done more for the Kingdom and the planet than she might ever know. He was proud of her.

Glimmer herself wasn’t too excited to be back in the castle that she had felt confined in as soon as she was made Queen, the walls that had once felt large and endless had started to feel smaller and smaller every time she had to stay back from a mission. Her true place as Queen was out on the front lines with the Best Friends Squad, just sitting around back at Bright Moon had killed her. She was happy however to get her own cushy bed back, with her million pillows and fluffy blankets. Sleeping on bed rolls on the ground had just not done her sleep routine any justice.

Bow was happy to return, but was more excited to prepare for their space adventure, and to help Entrapta finish some repairs on Darla before they took off. He also had a lot of arrows to fashion before they left, and his dads to see. He was so proud of them for helping out in the battle for Etheria, after their vow to never get involved.

Frosta worried about the Kingdom of Snows, and wondered if she should head back to her own Kingdom, but it had been one of the few places the Horde had not touched since the Princess Prom, and her guards and generals had the place secured, ready to react as she ruled from afar. She felt confident in them and happy to be offered a spot with King Micah in Glimmer’s absence. Plus she had really grown fond of the man since he had come back from Beast Island, though she would never tell him or Glimmer that.

Swift Wind was happy anywhere he went. Though he feared that his connection between himself and Adora would be severed once she left the planet, he was more than happy to keep his four legs on solid ground. Space was not really the place for him.

Adora was happy to be back, to finally have a space of her own again, even though it was only until Entrapta figured out an alternate fuel source for Darla. Though she knew she would be sharing her space with Catra, and everyone else knew, to her dismay, she felt at ease. She remembered how accustomed she had grown to sleeping with Catra at her feet in the Horde, so much so that her first few nights at Bright Moon, she had slept in Glimmer’s bed. Glimmer hadn’t liked that too much but eventually the Best Friend Squad was having sleepovers almost every night. Adora felt at ease that she wouldn’t have to sleep alone, and mostly that Catra, who had been plagued by trashing nightmares wouldn’t either. She knew however that even if Catra had been given her own room, that there wouldn’t have been much use in it, Catra would have inevitably ended up at her feet every night anyway.

For Catra, being at the doorstop of Bright Moon felt very surreal, the very place just mere months before she had vowed to crush and claim victory over. She had to keep reminding herself that this was real, and that they had forgiven her. It felt wrong sometimes just being in the same area as Glimmer, but they had history together now, especially after Prime’s ship. She couldn’t deny either that sharing a room with Adora, a private, no cadets surrounding her, no Best Friend Squad 5 feet away from them, space together would be something to get used to, but definitely not a bad thing. 

The group ascends the walkway into Bright Moon, Glimmer in the lead. The guards give her bows as they walk up, and shocked looks at the sight of Micah, their old King, now returned from what they had believed to be the grave.

At the entrance, they’re met by Glimmer’s General, Juliet, who nods her head at her Queen, then looks to Micah with her jaw open. “King Micah? I’d heard the word but…” she gives him a bow, to which he presses his hands outward, fingers outstretched. “No need for courtesies General, I’ve been away from here for so long that they just feel weird to exchange now.” She nods at him as well, “Very well,” then looks back to Glimmer, “I also heard of your good news, victory over Horde Prime, I am honored to have held the ground here at Bright Moon.”

Glimmer reaches out and grabs her arm, “Thanks General, we couldn’t have done it without you.” Juliet nods back at her, a smile on her face. But her smile fades when she looks past Glimmer, catching sight of Catra. Her eyes narrow and she lifts her white cape and grabs at the hilt of her sword, hanging at her hip. “What is she doing here? Another Horde soldier, do I need to find another place to quarter the prisoner?”

Glimmer holds her hand out toward the General, “No need General, Catra is sided with the Rebellion now, she’s more than proven her trustworthiness to us.” Glimmer looks back to Catra who is standing with her mouth agape, and smiles reaffirming. Catra catches her smile and returns one of her own.

The General drops her hand back to her side, and gives another nod, “Any friend of yours and member of the Rebellion is welcome in Bright Moon.” Catra gives a nod back, “thank you.” 

They all enter the Bright Moon castle, Micah and Catra gazing around themselves in awe of the sheer size of the Throne Room. The golden pillars rising high over their heads. The single throne at the top of the steps empty.

Micah can see her in the back of his mind now, standing at the top of the steps, overlooking her Kingdom. He can remember standing by her side, his staff in hand, watching Glimmer run around as a small child, squeezing her eyes hard, clenched fists, shaking in focus as she teleports a couple feet in front of her initial position. He smiles at the memory, then shakes his head back to reality, turning to the group that has mostly dissipated, except for Glimmer, who is standing a few feet behind him, watching him. “Welcome home dad. It’s been way too long.”


	8. Orphaned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lonnie recalls her childhood in the Horde and clashes with the group on her decision to assist Scorpia and the Princess Rebellion on a mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another shorter chapter, but a goodie with a little Lonnie insight and backstory! Hope you guys are still enjoying and thank you all for reading thus far! I really appreciate the kudos, comments, and love, and am shooting to get this story to 100k plus! Hope to be uploading more soon despite a busy work schedule.

Scorpia, Vultak, Lonnie, Kyle, and Rojelio all sit around a fire in the middle of the ruins of Theymore the next morning, having all passed out relatively fast the previous night.

_This feels like old times,_ Scorpia thinks, reminiscing. It had been a really long time since she had felt this kind of familiarity, not that she necessarily missed the Horde, but being around others who had similar life experiences was nice.

The guys were all talking about their time in the Crimson Waste, Vultak speaking rather passionately of his distaste for Horde Prime, Rojelio interjecting with grunts. And Lonnie sits opposite Scorpia, playing with the ashes in the fire with the tip of her extendable baton, pushing the pieces of ember from side to side.

“So what’s on the agenda for you guys today? Personally Vultak and I were going to head on to Elberon, check it out for more Horde soldiers, what about you guys?” Lonnie shrugs, playing with the fire, “Not sure, we haven’t really had much of an agenda since Prime was defeated,” then goes back to the fire, leaving an awkward quiet.

“And then my friends disconnected me from the hive mind and I finally saw the truth, Horde Prime did not tell the truth, Horde Prime lied to us all!” Vultak exclaims, telling his fascinating story loudly to Kyle and Rojelio who are looking on at him intrigued. Scorpia wishes that she had some crazy war stories to tell, or some awesome memory to share with Lonnie, but ever since the chip her memories of the last few weeks had been a little scattered, especially those from when she had the chip. The last thing she had really remembered before the final battle with Prime was singing as Linda D’ream in an underwater tavern, then finding Double Trouble. She wondered where Double Trouble had gotten off to since then, they really knew how to weasel their way out of sticky situations.

“Soo, the Crimson Waste!” Scorpia says to break the silence between them, laughing nervously. “What about it?” Lonnie asks without looking up. Scorpia frowns a little, looking over to the guys who are laughing and seem to all be getting on well, despite the fact that Vultak is still awkward and doesn’t understand social cues very well. “Well, uh, how was that?”

Lonnie, sits back up and retracts her baton, tucking in back in her belt loop, “I mean, it was the Waste, nothing really special about it. We made it to this tavern in the middle of nowhere when we heard about the whole world ending thing, turned back then. We followed this group of siblings, named some space names or something? Anyway, they said they were here to fight against Prime but they were looking for something, some sort of fuel source?”

Scorpia’s eyes get wide and she looks at Lonnie, “Wait, say that again!”

“They were looking for fuel?”

“No, the part before that, what were their names?” She asks. Adora and the group had met a group of inter-galaxy travelers when they were out in space on Darla on a random planet while looking for fuel crystals. She had heard the stories from Glimmer and Bow about how this random group of travelers they had stumbled upon were in search of the same thing and how they helped each other get to the crystals. At the same time Adora had been overcome by the power of She-Ra for the first time since her sword had been broken.

_They had space-esc names, oh what were they!_ She squeezes her eyes hard in deep thought, she wished she could remember the whole story.

“I barely remember,” Lonnie says shrugging, “The whole world about to end thanks to some crazy alien war lord was kinda killin’ my memory. Maybe something star?”

Scorpia jumps up from where she’s sitting, “Oh my god! The star siblings?!” That’s what it had been, she remembered Glimmer telling her about the Star Siblings, one short girl with an owl, one taller girl with long robotic arms, and a taller guy with a bionic eye. “Jewelstar, Tallstar, and Starla?” She asks Lonnie.

Lonnie scratches the back of her neck, “I guess? Sounds about right. You know them?”

Scorpia shakes her head, “Not me, but Adora, and if they’re here… they have to be looking for more fuel crystals, there must be fuel crystals on Etheria!” she thinks, recalling how at the meeting, Adora had tasked Entrapta with finding another fuel source for Darla before they could leave. “Where are they now?! Wow, they could really help the Rebellion out!”

Lonnie shrugs, “We only followed them back, the one sister with the robotic arms rubbed me the wrong way, I didn’t keep track of where they’re at or where they’re going.”

_If they’re still here for fuel, we need to find them before they find it and leave!_ She thinks. “Oh man, Entrapta is going to want to hear this!” She shouts.

Lonnie shifts on the log she’s sitting on, “Entrapta is okay? Last I knew she was on Beast Island after Catra sent her. We kind of thought she- you know…” Scorpia smiles and nods, “Adora and Bow saved her, she’s okay. Anyway, you don’t remember at all where the Star Siblings went?”

Lonnie scratches at her forehead, “I mean, no, they didn’t say a-” Suddenly Kyle interjects, “Those space dudes? The tall scary one said they were going to some big castle on a mountainside! Something about it having mines beneath it!”

Lonnie looks surprised, “Wait Kyle, you were actually paying attention?” Kyle looks proud of himself, “For once, yeah.” Lonnie scoffs and the corner of her lip turns upward a little, “Good job Kyle.” He beams.

Scorpia’s mouth is nearly hanging, _big castle, mines underneath of it, i_ __t_ has to be Dryl _ , _so there are fuel crystals underneath Dryl, Entrapta’s own castle? How did she not know!_ “We have to head to Bright Moon to let them know, we need to go to Dryl ASAP!”

Lonnie scoffs again, this time at Scorpia, “We?”

“I mean yeah, I know you guys said you didn’t want any part in the whole princess thing but it would be like old times! We would get to go on a mission together again! You guys don't even have to call me Force Captain or anything either,” Scorpia replies.

“Listen,I know we agreed to help out but we did not agree to go to the Rebel headquarters or to help princesses out!” Lonnie says, crossing her arms.

Scorpia frowns, “You know Lonnie, the princesses aren’t as bad as the Horde brainwashed us to think, I mean yeah, each side has their little kinks, but the princesses saved the planet, and I know it’s crazy but I’m a princess and you trust me.”

Lonnie rolls her eyes upwards, shaking her head, “I already told you yesterday Scorpia, we’re not helping the Rebellion, we’re only here to help rebuild Etheria, maybe find our new home, and that’s it!”

“But Lonnie, I think it’s about time we stopped hating the princesses so much, if Scorpia is one, they can’t all be that bad right?” Kyle reasons, “We could at least give them a chance, plus, what else are we going to do with just the three of us? We can’t just stay camouflage as Horde soldiers forever, staying on the run all the time.”

Lonnie shakes her head, “I said no Kyle, we don’t need anyone else, and we especially don’t need to help out those who left us in a heartbeat, it seems like Adora has this all handled herself, she doesn’t need us, she left us for these people remember?”

Kyle frowns, “Yeah but she didn’t leave because of us, she left because the Horde wasn’t good, they would have ended the world if it wasn’t for her leaving Lonnie.” Lonnie still has her arms crossed, Kyle continues, “Come on Lonnie, we left the Horde, now maybe it’s time to leave the Horde way of thinking too, it would probably be fun, right Rojelio?” Rojelio blinks at them, then roars his input, closing his eyes and nodding his head affirmingly. “See, even Rojelio agrees.”

Lonnie shakes her head, “Ugh, when did you become so opinionated Kyle?” she looks back to Scorpia, rolling her eyes slightly, “Alright fine, we’ll go with you guys to Dryl, but that’s it! And we’re not a part of your frilly little princess gang or whatever okay? We’re just going to help out and it’s only because we heard there’s a battalion of Horde soldiers still out there, got it?”

Scorpia laughs and gives her a big slap on the back, knocking her forward a few feet again, “I knew you couldn’t resist hanging out with your old buddy! Oh man this will be like that time we were defending the Tower together, we were like the dream team! Like old times,” She exclaims excitedly.

Lonnie rolls her eyes. She couldn’t believe that she was voluntarily offering her help out to the group of princesses that she had trained her entire life in efforts to end. She was a warrior, trained in the art of combat, with only a sense of camaraderie for those who fought beside her, not against her. Granted she only really ever held a grudge against just one person, and that wasn’t even Adora who had left them back in the Horde, she still didn’t want to be the one that committed herself to the Princess Rebellion after all this time. Call it pride or even ignorance, but she wanted to be the lone ranger, even if Kyle and Rojelio would try as they might to talk some sense into her.

She had been that lone ranger since she was a kid, born into the Horde as the sole daughter of a high ranking Horde officer, expected to follow in her very footsteps. Until her mother was killed in the line of duty during a battle for a rebel outpost when she was only 5, leaving her as just another orphan of the Horde. This made it increasingly hard to trust even Scorpia, who she knew was a great force captain, and person, but had pledged herself to the Rebellion.

Lonnie frowns, “No, not like old times, you chose your side, I chose mine. I’ll help you Scorpia, but we are not the same. I pledge my allegiance to myself.”

“Well I personally think it would be cool to be a part of a Princess Alliance, they all have kick ass powers!” Kyle adds.

Lonnie rolls her eyes, those powers had been the very ones that had left her to the fate of an orphan in the Horde, Kyle didn’t ever have that, he was a lucky one, born to parents in the Fright Zone, pushed to become a cadet by draft. He had no reason to have to prove himself, no tragic backstory, no reason to hate the foe they had been trained to fight against other than the training itself. He would never understand why Lonnie felt the way she did about the Rebellion, nor would she ever tell him. “Yeah well if you think they’re so cool you can stay and become a princess then Kyle, you’re always playing around anyway, maybe you can play princess with them.”

Scorpia can sense the hostility in her voice again, the one that seemed to come up every time she talked about the princesses or the Rebellion. She gulps at the thought of Lonnie figuring out that Catra was still alive and was a part of the Rebellion. She only hoped that Catra was ready to give them all apologies for the ways she had mistreated them. “Listen, nobody has to be a part of the Rebellion if they don’t want to, I more wanted to welcome you in with open arms like they did for me when I left the Horde,” Scorpia says laughing nervously at the fact that initially they had no so openly welcomed her in with open arms. In fact that they had tried to chase her out of Bright Moon, and fight her in the courtyard.

“Yeah well it’s not going to happen,” Lonnie says, turning her back to Scorpia then walks towards the house they had all slept in the night before. Kyle looks at Scorpia, a sort of apologetic look in his eye, “She’ll come around eventually I hope,” he says quietly, “I’m already sick of sleeping on the ground and being on the run from ex-Horde soldiers, it’s almost as tiring as being in the Horde still.” Rojelio grunts in agreement.

Vultak interjects, “My friend, I understand your dismay, a life in the Horde is a life full of lies. There is a better life when you have friends.”

Kyle frowns, “Try telling that to Lonnie.”

Scorpia frowns, she hopes that everything goes well, and that Lonnie can see that being around her friends isn’t so bad, even with Catra there. She had her initial doubts too but she had been quick to realize that the Horde had lied and manipulated them, and that life was so much better with a bunch of friends who were there to fight next to you and support you every day. She turns back to the group, “Well, I’ll go make sure Lonnie is okay, are the rest of you ready to head to Bright Moon? We don’t have much time to waste if it’s not too late already!” They all nod. “Well then, let's pack up and head out, we have Star Siblings to catch!”


	9. Whispering About Whatever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora and Catra finally share some of their first few moments truly alone, but as always something gets in the way. Adora and Micah talk about Angella. Scorpia arrives back at Bright Moon.

“And this is Glimmer’s room, and this is the spare room where we keep all the prisoners, and this, this is my- our room now.” Adora says, pulling Catra along by her wrist as she corrects herself.

It’s all a lot for Catra, and she’s tired after barely sleeping the past few weeks. But she lets Adora give her the tour of everything without so much as a complaint. Catra knew how excited she had been to finally show her around, she couldn’t dare say no.

Adora opens the door to her room, then stands in the entryway, letting Catra walk past. “So, what do you think? I know it’s not a lot, but better than sleeping in the dorms with everyone as cadets right?” Catra takes the room in, the pink walls, accented with gold. The single small bed, pushed against the wall, sheets all nicely tucked in like they used to have to do when they were in the Horde, _old habits die hard I guess_ , she thinks, chuckling to herself.

On the other side of the room a blue pool of water, fed by a single fall of water from god knows where on the ceiling, some kind of magical princess power she guessed. It’s very different from the dorms, or even her room she was upgraded to as force captain. The color alone sets this room apart from her dark and dreary Horde room, grey and industrial, pipes sticking out the walls, a constant metallic humming as ambient noise. And she doesn’t remember a lot of her accommodations on Prime’s ship, she forces herself not to.

Here everything is quiet except for the sound of flowing water, it’s soothing to the ears, calming in a way. “Wow, great decoration job Adora, you really are a princess huh?” Catra says, giving Adora a smug smile.

Adora steps into the room, rolling her eyes, “Hey it was like this when I got here, it’s not like I’ve had any time to change anything, except for the original bed, that thing was too cushy.”

“Ah, so you did miss the Horde a little huh?” Catra asks, jokingly. She walks over to the bed, admiring the familiarity of the folded blanket, pillow square in the center. It doesn’t remind her of the Horde though, but of every night she spent staying up in a bed just like this, squeezing herself in next to Adora, and hiding under the blankets together. She smiles to herself as she runs her hand across the top, Adora narrows her eyes and shakes her head, scoffing, “Yeah definitely not the Horde, just… I don’t know, I needed something familiar here, and yeah, maybe I was a little homesick, but it wasn’t the Horde I was missing.” She gives Catra a little smile.

Catra sits on the edge of the bed, facing Adora, “Is it weird that even though I didn’t leave, that I was homesick too?” Catra can feel a pang in her chest, it’s a tight feeling, like a hand has reached inside and taken her heart captive. Adora sits on the bed next to her, then flops herself back, so that she’s laying with her legs dangling off the side. “I don’t think either of us were homesick for a place necessarily, we just didn’t know it yet.”

Catra flops back so they’re laying side by side, she smiles at the thought, “remember all the sleepovers we used to have back there?” she asks.

Adora nods, “You used to come over to my bunk after lights out and we’d stay up half the night, of course I remember,” she laughs, “we lost so much sleep sometimes I don’t even know how we functioned at training.”

Catra thinks back to her time on Prime’s ship, sitting with her back to Glimmer’s in the brig, shamelessly reminiscing about their sleepovers with her. She recalls Glimmer talking about their sleepovers back in Bright Moon, and eating all the cake. And herself looking back on their time in the Horde together.

_“We used to have those…”_

_“What?”_

_“Sleepovers, me and Adora, when we were cadets in the Horde. We’d play tricks on Kyle, stay up all night whispering about- you know, whatever.”_

Her face turns red just thinking about it. she had been glad Glimmer couldn’t see it then. “Remember that one night we were up half the night, and I was laying on the other side of the bed with my feet on top of yours?” Catra asks, thinking about that night that she had envisioned with Glimmer back then.

Adora laughs, “Wait so like almost every night then?”

Catra scoffs, “No, I mean the night I told you about the spiders, and you got all concerned,” she giggles before she continues, “like you thought I was having a heart attack or something? And then I told you that I feel it when I’m around you?” She looks over to Adora, who looks right back at her.

Adora’s cheeks are all red, “hey in my defense, I thought you were going to die or something!”

Catra looks up at the ceiling, her face feeling on fire, that pang in her chest intensifying, “then you held my hand and told me you liked the feeling and I-'' Adora props herself up on her side, “You what?” she interrupts. “And I liked it too,” Catra says, looking back over to Adora, who’s giving her that same dumb look, her eyes dopey, her mouth turned into a smile.

Catra can feel the spiders again, crawling through her body, leaving tingly trails behind underneath her skin. She doesn’t mind it, but she realizes Adora is still giving her that some doey eyed look. “What? Don’t make it all weird Adora! I just... I like the way I feel around you okay! You always have to make things weird!”

Adora laughs, and raises her eyebrows, “You’re the one who brought it up, but thanks for finally admitting it!” Her face softens as she gazes at Catra. Catra can feel that same fire in her chest now, her heart pounds.

“You think things would have been different between us if I left with you?” Catra asks.

Adora shrugs, “It's hard to say, I mean, maybe, but I understand why you didn’t. I’m just glad you’re home now. I was homesick for you,” Adora blushes.

Catra’s heart feels like it might burst out of her chest, “I missed you too Adora,” she says quietly, analyzing the girl’s face. Catra scooches her body closer to Adora until her head rests underneath Adora’s chin, she stretches her arm across the girl’s body, resting it on her side. Adora wraps her arms around Catra’s back, pulling her in closer, and resting her head between Catra’s ears gently. A small purr rises in Catra’s chest that she tries to suppress but can’t.

“DON’T- say anything about it!” Catra says, adjusting her tone after the outburst, she’d been working on controlling her anger and frustrations, with a little help from Perfuma.

Adora laughs, her warm breath against Catra’s head sending little prickles down her back. “I wasn’t going to say anything, except that I remember when we used to lay in my bed next to each other and it would put me to sleep. This feels like that, but better.”

Catra closes her eyes, content, safe. “It’s nice to finally be alone too…” She wouldn’t admit it but she had always craved being this close.

She’s starting to doze off, her eyes feeling heavy and glossy, when she feels a hand combing through her hair, it feels nice, but before the nice feelings have settled, she feels ice begin to pump through her veins. Within seconds, her body tense up, and she winces as a sharp pain pulses through her body. 

"Catra?" Adora asks, looking on at the girl's tense body in terror. She doesn't know what to do, Catra wincing hard, bringing her clenched hands to her forehead, her own claws starting to dig through her skin. "Catra, what's wrong!? Stop, you're going to hurt yourself!" 

Catra can hear Adora pleading with her, but her mind and body seem to be floating separately in a pool of green, a sense of dread, then panic sets in as a shadow looms over her. A firm hand grasps at a bundle of her hair from behind her, ripping and pulling, not the same gentle combing she had been subject to earlier. And all of a sudden with one big pull and slash, the pieces of her hair begin to fall at her feet, which are resting in a pool of green water. 

She tries to scream, but a hand reaches around the front and grabs at her entire chin, metallic fingertips sinking into her skin, a jolt of electricity bursting into her head, sending out arcs, eyes flashing neon green. 

"Stop...stop, stop, STOP, NO!" Catra screams, the pain becoming almost unbearable, and then suddenly her body shoots up, reconnecting with her mind and reality, and her vision focuses in on Adora's face, both of her hands restrained by Adora's tight grip around her wrists. Adora's face is ghostly white, the blonde looks absolutely horrified, her mouth hanging wide open.

"Catra?" Adora asks quietly, loosening her grip on her wrists. She had no idea what had just happened, one moment they were dozing off together, their bodies wrapped around each other, and the next Catra had jumped into a full blown panic. 

Catra's chest is still rising and falling heavily as she tries to regain her breath, she looks at Adora, frowning as they make eye contact, "Adora, I'm sorry, I don't know what happened I-"

Adora takes both of her hands in her own and gives them a squeeze, "the flashbacks again?" she asks, Catra nods. 

"I think it was triggered by you touching my head this time, it reminded me of being back up there..." she shudders, pushing the memories in her head back, "not to say I didn't like it though." 

Adora nods, then reaches out for Catra's shoulder, pulling her into her arms again, "it's okay, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, we can talk about something else to get your mind off it all." Catra nods, nuzzling her face into her girlfriend's shoulder, taking in a breath of her scent. A wave of relief rolls over her body. 

Adora was the only person she had ever let touch her hair, or really anywhere to be honest, but she guessed that now it would be a while until she would be able to touch her hair again, in fear that her mind might shock itself back into flashbacks of Horde Prime. She takes a moment to flush all the memories out of her mind, and tries to think about something else.

Catra can hear Adora’s heart beating loudly in her ear, an almost nervous beat, but strong. Adora nods, “Did you ever think about doing this when we were cadets?” she asks, her cheeks turning red again. Catra looks up to her, “What do you mean? Being this close?” _Was Adora thinking about the same thing she was? Could she read her mind being this close?_

“Sort of, but like, I don’t know like in the different way, like… like whatever this is now, whatever we are now.” Catra laughs, pulling back slightly, then brushes her fingertips across Adora’s jawline, admiring its sharp angles, a far cry from the rounded face she knew when they were cadets. Adora shivers, her arms filling with little bumps, her face warm. “You mean now that we’re together?” Catra asks. Adora blushes, “Yeah, that…”

Catra shifts so that she’s facing Adora again, Adora's face is a pretty good distraction from all the thoughts earlier, now all she can think about is how dumb she was to ever believe her own thoughts in the first place. _“Adora doesn’t want me, not like I want her!”_ Her own words echo through her mind, she laughs to herself briefly, stupidly for not realizing the obvious for so long.

“I mean, didn’t you?” Catra replies in question.

Adora grins, “You know, I remember when we were all around 13, and Kyle was explaining what having a crush meant, and Lonnie was demanding all of us to tell her who our crushes were. I remember the first person that came to my mind when Kyle described what it was, was you, but of course I was too shy and just spit out a random name, and so for years they all thought I had a crush on some random girl from another squad. Did she ask you? Who did you say?”

Catra thinks hard to remember from deep within her mind, hidden amongst the multitude of memories, the good and bad archived in the area of her mind dedicated to the Fright Zone.

_“Soo Catra, who do you have a crush on?” Kyle asks, raising his eyebrows._

_Lonnie scoffs at him, “Oh come on Kyle, isn’t it obvious?”_

_Catra slams her locker door and heads to the locker room door, “Get real, I don’t have a crush on anyone, I don’t need anyone else like all of you do.” She rolls her eyes as she heads towards the door to the room._

Catra blushes to herself, thinking about how Lonnie had practically known since day one that Catra had a thing for Adora, she had just denied it for so long, and had threatened Lonnie that if she ever told Adora, that she would shred her up into little ribbons, partial bluff, partial teenage anger. _“_

_Oh yeah, so why are you and Adora practically attached to each other by the hip then huh? Why is Adora always protecting you? It’s because you like her isn’t it?” Lonnie says mockingly, crossing her arms._

_Catra turns towards Lonnie, anger building in her chest, “I don’t have a crush on Adora, and I don’t need Adora to protect me, that’s just what best friends do!” Her claws dig into her palms, her fists clenched tightly, slightly raised._

_Lonnie scoffs, her eyebrows raised, “Suree Catra, everyone knows it’s true! You do need Adora...”_

_“AAAGHH!” Catra yells, lunging toward Lonnie with her claws out. But before she can reach Lonnie, a hand grabs her wrist firmly, stopping her in her tracks. Catra gasps when she realizes it’s Adora, who is staring her down sternly. “Hey! Catra, calm down! I’m sure whatever Lonnie said doesn’t justify you hurting her!”_

_“_ _Yeahhh Catra, we were just talking about-” Catra interrupts Lonnie, ripping her wrist from Adora’s hand, “The conversation is over Lonnie,” she says coldly, storming out of the locker room._

The truth was, Catra had liked Adora, even then, ever since she was old enough to start differentiating the feelings you should have towards friends, and the feelings you have when just being in someone’s presence makes your heart skip beats. But as a kid it frustrated her to no end, especially since Adora was always trying to protect her from everything, always standing up for her, she didn’t want it to be that way, but Adora was the golden child. Try as she may to feel any other way, she had always liked Adora.

Catra chuckles, “You know that day you stopped me from attacking Lonnie in the locker room?”

“Yeah?”

“Well it’s always been you Adora. The crush, the spiders in my stomach, everything, it’s always been you.” She blushes a deep red, and then grins, nodding her head slowly. Adora grins back _,_ her heart thumping in her chest.

She carefully reaches out and tucks a loose strand of Adora’s hair behind her ear, leaving her hand on her cheek. She strokes her thumb across Adora’s face lightly, then leans in, her head tilted. Their lips meet, noses touching softly, and Adora brings her hand to the back of Catra’s neck, carefully avoiding the spot where Catra's chip had been.

Adora can barely feel her lips as Catra’s mesh with hers, first soft and sweet, then more, as if Catra has been meaning to kiss her like this for a while, to make up for lost time. Their lips move against each other, and Adora trails her fingers from the back of Catra’s neck to her chest.

Catra hesitates, the sensations sending shivers down her toes, and then they make eye contact and burst out in nervous and giddy laughter, followed by more small kisses.

When they finally pull back, Adora analyzes Catra’s face, smiling as she counts each freckle, and feels the warmth in her gaze. Catra feels out of breath, and on top of the world. “So I take it you’re okay with me sleeping in your bed with you then?” Catra asks, smirking. Adora pulls the smaller girl close to her chest, and places a kiss on her forehead, “Yeah, you’re not sleeping anywhere else, you can forget about getting your own bed.”

Catra grins, taking stock of the size of the bed, “Okay but can we maybe get something a little bigger than this? Tell me there’s something bigger than this on Darla.” Adora laughs, “Yeah, my compartment on Darla has a bigger bed, you’ll actually get to see it this time too.”

The thought of returning to the vast expanse of space again scared Catra a little, but she felt secure knowing that Adora would be by her side. She wouldn’t let them be separated again, especially knowing how much of a complex Adora had for wanting to save everyone else but herself all the time. Catra had vowed to look out for her as a kid and would continue to do so until the end of time. If there was such a thing as a soulmate, Adora was the closest thing to hers, she shuttered imagining a world without her. “So does that mean I get to be your co-captain of the ship then?” Catra gives her a wink. Adora raises her brow, “You can be the captain for all I care, as long as I have you by my side, nothing can go wrong.” 

* * *

The night seems to slip away from them before they know it, and daylight begins to creep up over the horizon. Through tired, baggy eyes, the last of their reminiscing and laughter slowly fades into snores, Catra, the smaller of the two surrounded by Adora, their bodies so close that there may have not been any air between them. The exhaustion of the past week’s events had finally hit them, and rendered them unconscious for a good part of the next morning.

In fact, nobody in the castle really left their perspective rooms until late, nearly noon, a welcome sleep after all they had been through, their worn out bodies eating up every minute of sleep they could get. Glimmer and Bow, Bow holding Glimmer tight to his body were sleeping in nearly the same fashion as the other couple, Glimmer surely to not wake until much much later than anyone else.

Even Entrapta had finally succumbed to a deep sleep, falling asleep in the makeshift lab that had been set up for her, her head resting on a desk full of notes and papers scattered all over. Frosta sleeping face down in her bed, sprawled out across the entire thing, Melog and Swift Wind sleeping soundly by her door, as if guarding it.

Adora was the first to wake, her anxiety pulling her out of the coziness that was Catra, a soft but unreciprocated kiss before she got out of the bed, and to each hallway of the castle in a sort of round, as if the Bright Moon guards didn’t have that handled themselves.

She worried, she didn’t know if she would ever stop worrying, that there was still a threat out there, that she hadn’t done enough yet. She also worried that her friends might call her obsessed and insist she relax, but that just wasn’t something she felt capable of. There was so much to do, so many people to help, so many planets to restore. She didn’t know how they would do it, and where their adventure would take them, but she was anxious to start, the sooner the better. She was happy the best friend squad would be by her side the entire time, though she knew that the things that needed done, only she could do.

As she made another round, mentally checking off things to be done before they left Etheria, she bumps into another person, jumping backwards. “Oh! I’m so sorry I, oh, it’s you.” She says, as she backs away from King Micah.

“Ah, so you’re the first awake, I figured as much. If Glimmer is anything like her mother was, I bet she’ll sleep straight into the afternoon.”

Adora laughs, “Yeah, Glimmer definitely does love her sleep, she’s usually the last one up every time we have sleepovers.”

Micah grins, “That’s my girl, Angella would be so proud.” Adora smiles weakly, thinking about her last words with Angella, “ _Take care of each other,”_ she had said before closing the portal and saving Etheria. Adora’s heart ached for her, for Glimmer, for Micah who was about a year too late. She still felt semi-responsible for not stopping Angella, however she didn’t know if she would be here today if she had.

Adora’s smile turns into a frown, “About Angella…” she starts, looking at the ground, but Micah places a hand on her shoulder, “I know Adora, it’s okay. She sacrificed herself so that we all could live, she was brave, she saved us all.” Adora’s face lightens, glad that Micah was not mad or upset, and even that he did not seem as grief ridden as she thought he may be. “I’m sorry there was nothing I could do to save her, but her legacy lives on well with Glimmer, she’s been an amazing Queen and an even better friend.”

Micah smiles back weakly, dropping his hand from her shoulder, “I always knew she would be strong, that she would someday take over, I only wish I would have gotten to see her grow.”

“Well, just seeing the growth she’s made in the past three years since I met her, you would be proud.” He smiles, nodding his head in agreement. “Well Adora, I already am. And thank you for taking good care of her. I feel better about her leaving for space for an unknown amount of time when she’s with you. You guys are going to save this entire universe.”

“That’s the plan, and hey, King Micah?” She asks. “You can just call me Micah you know.”

“Micah? Welcome back to Bright Moon.”

Just then behind them they both hear the sound of footsteps, running down the hallways. They both turn to see Glimmer running towards them, “Dad, Adora, It’s Scorpia, she’s back! And I think we have a big lead on the Darla fuel issue!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CATRADORA FLUFF, FINALLY! I would enjoy writing fluff between them all the time but alas we have a story to tell here! No worries though, there will be a lot more where this came from! Also, from here on out for the most part these chapters are going to start getting a bit longer, no more baby chapters so I hope.


	10. Best Friend Squad Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lonnie confronts Catra and Adora for the first time since she last saw them when they left the Horde. The Best Friend Squad plus embarks on their first mission together since the war.

Adora races side by side with Micah to the Bright Moon entry bridge where Glimmer had said she was leaving Scorpia and Vultak. Adora is both excited and filled with dread at the thought of finding fuel crystals so soon, and being able to start the task that had been eating away at her mind lately. It was a bit of a soft spot starting so soon after all the stress they had been through the past few years, but she was anxious to get started. 

She hears a clacking behind her as they run, and half turns to see a sleepy faced Catra sprinting on both legs and arms to catch up with them. “Catra? I thought you were still sleeping!” She exclaims as Catra joins her at her side, back on two feet. They run next to each other, “Yeah I was until Sparkles decided to wake me up as if the world was ending! Wait, is the world ending? What’s going on?” She asks with a concerned look, her brow furrowing. 

Adora slows down her pace and then halts, grabbing at Catra’s arm to slow her down, “No, the world is not ending, Scorpia is back and she has news, apparently it’s urgent!” Catra scoffs, flicking one of her ears, “Okay well then why did you stop me slowpoke! Let’s go!” She takes off ahead of Adora, but Adora’s longer legs allow her to Catch up in a matter of mere seconds. “And you thought you could outrun me!” Adora winks at Catra from beside her, digging an elbow into her side gently. “Yeah well I’ve only been awake for like 2 minutes, I’d beat you any other time!” Catra jokes playfully.

Adora and Catra skirt to a halt next to Micah, and as they step around the corner Adora can see more than just Scorpia and Vultak standing in the Bright Moon halls. Adora gasps, then looks over to Catra, unsure of how she would react to their old squadmates. Scorpia had told Adora of how they had left the Horde after the way that Catra had used them as expendable soldiers, sending them on mission after mission. While Adora didn’t agree with those calls, she knew that had been past Catra, Force Captain Catra, Horde Catra. She knew that while Catra hadn’t always been perfect, that she was apologizing for many of her wrong-doings, and she sensed that for once, Catra really was sorry. 

The next question was how Lonnie would react, seeing the last time that Adora and Lonnie had come in contact, she had sort of pushed her off a bridge in the Fright Zone brig. Adora grits her teeth at the sight of Lonnie, adorned in a Horde soldier uniform, Kyle and Rojelio in tow behind her. Lonnie had never exactly been the type to easily forgive and forget, so she knew that forgiveness would not be coming too easily. Even as kids, Lonnie had always maintained a coldness, something that Adora has grown accustomed to over the years.

“Adora! Catra! Boy is it good to see you two, I have some great news for you, but we don’t have a lot of time!” Scorpia says, stepping closer and pulling the two into a suffocating hug. Catra gasps for a breath and Scorpia releases them, “Oh, my bad, sorry, really good at hugs, really bad at judging my own strength, anyway-” 

From behind Scorpia Adora notices Lonnie's face contorting as she glares at Catra, her fists start to ball, “Why is SHE here?” she hisses through her gritted teeth. She starts to walk forward but Rojelio and Kyle both place a hand on her shoulder, holding her back. 

Adora looks between Lonnie and Catra, Catra is frowning, slinking backwards, standing down, “Lonnie I-” 

Lonnie jerks her shoulders out of the boy's grasp, and turns to Scorpia who is rubbing the back of her neck anxiously, her own teeth gritted in an uneven and almost apologetic smile. “Scopia,” she demands, “You didn’t say anything about Catra being here! Why is she here, she’s hurt all of us!” Lonnie turns to Adora, who has offered out an arm to Catra’s in support. “And you, you were the first one to leave us, you left us with Catra, you don’t even know all the shit Catra put us through after you left! And now she’s here with the Rebellion, with you!” 

Adora frowns, “Lonnie I get it! And I’m not excusing her but-” 

Lonnie rolls her eyes, her fingers digging into her palms in anger, Adora tenses up, ready to hold her back if she lunges at Catra. She had been the mediator in many scuffles between the two back in the Horde. Lonnie and Catra had never gotten along more than the exchange of a few words here and there. Adora had always been the glue that melded their squad together, kept the peace. 

Scorpia steps in between the two, holding both her arms out, “Woah guys, I know we have a lot of catching up and a lot of apologies to make, but we need to focus! We have fuel crystals to get to!” 

Micah steps forward, “I agree with Scorpia, getting all heated won’t help anything, and right now it sounds like we have something important to talk about.” 

Lonnie is still glaring at Catra through Scorpia’s arms, Catra lowers her head, still frowning, “I know how this must look Lonnie, and I’ve been working on my anger, I would like to apologize if you’d accept it,” she says calmly, looking up at Lonnie with the last few words. 

Lonnie looks almost taken aback at first, her eyes growing wide, but then her brow furrows again, her eyes still angry. “You think it’s as easy as just apologizing! Catra you could have gotten us all killed, actually, you almost got Kyle killed! All so that you could win brownie points with Hordak. You never gave a shit about us, so why should we accept an apology from you now?” 

Adora looks at Catra empathetically, she can see the sadness in her eyes as she looks at the ground, tears have started to well up in the corners. Old Catra would have gotten angry back, would have lashed out or had an outburst of frustration But this Catra seems apologetic, calm, and truly sorry. She hopes that Lonnie can come around and see this too, she doesn’t blame Lonnie for being angry. 

“Also, did I miss the memo on princesses because the last I checked the Rebellion was full of them and you hated Adora! She was your sworn enemy!” 

Catra’s eyes grow wide, she looks up at Lonnie, a sadness in her eyes, “I never hated Adora, and I never meant to hurt you guys I just- I got carried away. I know you guys were hurt when Adora left too, I just took it too far… you guys didn’t deserve that, I should have been your friend, but instead I just hurt you all,” Catra looks between the three of them and rubs at the back of her neck nervously, “I’m sorry for everything I did, I’m sorry that you all got hurt, and I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you as a squad-mate and a friend.” Catra offers a weak half smile to Lonnie. 

Lonnie looks conflicted for a moment, giving Catra's words consideration, but then frowns and turns her back, speaking over her shoulder, “I just, I don’t think I can help with her here,” she says, walking past Kyle and Rojelio. They both look confused as to what to do and neither of them stop her. Kyle just stands there with his mouth open. 

Catra frowns, her mouth opening ever so slightly. She doesn't know what to say or do either, she knows how badly she messed up when she was with the Horde, she doesn't expect forgiveness, probably doesn't deserve it. She doesn't blame Lonnie.

“Lonnie, come on, you don’t have to accept her apology right away but can we at least stay and help? They’ll probably help us find a place to stay after,” Kyle offers like a bargaining chip. Rojelio grunts in agreement with Kyle, shrugging. “It’s about time we all stopped hating each other and started to help each other out, that’s how it used to be before all this mess, why can’t we go back to that?” He finishes, shrugging with his arms out. 

Lonnie scoffs, and starts walking back down the bridge away from the group before turning back to face them all, “Because Kyle, that was the past, things have changed, people have changed.” 

Kyle frowns, “Lonnie, wait-” 

“Whatever, if you guys want to stay and help the people that abandoned us, betrayed us, almost got you killed, be my guest, but I never signed up for any of this.” Kyle looks from Catra, to Adora, to Scorpia, and then back at Lonnie as she walks down the bridge alone. He scoffs, and then shakes his head, shooting Adora a look as if to apologize. But Adora doesn’t need an apology, she understands. She knew that at some point Catra would come across someone who wouldn’t immediately accept her apologies and this was finally that moment. As much as she wished that their old squadmates could work together with them again like old times, she knew that that ship had sailed long ago, and that so much had happened since then. 

“Come on Rojelio, let’s go,” Kyle says, pulling him along by the arm as they chase after Lonnie. 

They all sit there for a moment in silence, watching the three disappear on the other side of the bridge, all unsure of what to say after the hostile exchange that had just happened. Catra is still looking down at the ground as Bow and Entrapta arrive behind them, Bow breathing heavy from running, Entrapta perched on top of Emily who emits a quaint robotic shrill. “Hey, what did we miss?” Bow asks, looking between everyone. He leans in close to Adora and whispers, “And why does Catra look so upset?”

Adora shakes her head, “It’s our old squad-mates from when we were cadets, they aren’t exactly too happy to see her again, or me for that matter.” Bow makes an “oh” shape with his mouth and silently nods, Glimmer rejoins them at his side.

Scorpia turns back to all of them after watching Lonnie, Kyle, and Rojelio leave, sad that they chose to leave after they had just been reunited, but she had once left the Horde as well, she understood Lonnie's reasons. “Well, our old squad-mates left for the Crimson Waste after they ditched the Horde and they just so happened to meet up with someone that I think you guys know.” Scorpia says, looking to Adora, Bow, and Glimmer. 

“Huntara?!” Adora says, a slight glimmer in her eye. “Double Trouble?” Bow asks, scratching at his chin. 

Scorpia shakes her head, “No, and no. They actually came across the Star Siblings, the group of travelers you guys came across in space while looking for fuel crystals?” 

Adora’s eyes grow wide, “So they did come and help fight Horde Prime! I knew they would! What are they doing here now?”

Scorpia looks at Entrapta, “Well, they’re actually at Dryl right now, evidently collecting fuel crystals down in the mine, but Kyle said that they’re probably close to leaving soon if they haven’t already.” 

Entrapta looks confused, “That is physically impossible, according to all my calculations, all veins in the mines under Dryl should be tapped already, they have been for thousands of years. Etheria hasn’t had Thulite on it since the First One’s arrived here and mined the whole planet out, I would know, I’ve checked.” 

Scorpia frowns, “Are you sure? Kyle said something about using First One tech from another planet to find them. Even if there isn’t anything down there, I think we should at least meet up with them, maybe they have a lead on another place where we can get fuel for Darla?” 

Adora nods, looking around the crowd, “I think that’s a good idea, is anyone elses opposed?” Everyone nods in agreement. “Can we trust this Kyle kid? They were all wearing Horde soldier uniforms,” Micah asks. 

Melog suddenly slinks between them and to Catra’s side, pushing up on Catra’s hand from below and mewling at her. She gasps, then smiles, giving them a pet on the head, Melog nuzzling into her hand. Catra nods affirmingly, “I trust what Kyle has to say, he was a good squad-mate when Adora and I were back in the Horde, they all were. If he said they’re underneath Dryl, they’ll be there.” Catra gives Adora a quick smile, then looks back to Micah. Micah nods at Catra, “Very well, and as a friend of my daughter and Adora, I trust your intuition.” 

Adora rubs her chin between her index finger and thumb, brainstorming “Knowing the Star Siblings, we won’t have a lot of time, we need to get to Dryl quickly if we want to catch up with them, Glimmer, do you think you could teleport a group of us to Dryl?” Glimmer nods, “Maybe six of us max? I would be out of power though by the time I got us there, that’s quite a lot of distance. Would it be a better idea to only have a few of us go or to teleport half and then recharge and teleport the rest of us?” 

Adora shakes her head, “We’ll run out of time if we haven’t already.” 

Bow interjects, “If she runs out of power she can’t teleport us around Dryl!” 

Adora nods, “That’s okay, Entrapta knows her way around that maze of a place like no other, I’m sure we’ll manage just fine without teleportation!” 

Entrapta grins, “You guys think Dryl is a maze, just wait until we get in the mines! The First Ones were so crafty in hiding things!” 

Micah looks at Entrapta with a concerned look, “Wait Entrapta,  _ do _ you know how to get around the mines then? How will you find the Siblings? I just got you all back, I don’t want you guys getting lost in a mine!”

Entrapta chuckles with her little shriek, “Of courseee, you don’t think I haven’t explored those mines looking for First One’s tech about a million times now do you?” 

Micah scoffs and then nods at her, “I suppose you would know the mines under your own Kingdom the best huh?” Adora interrupts, ”so the four of us, Entrapta and Scorpia? Sorry Vultak, you’ll be able to come another time.” He nods and bows, “My friend, I understand that some journeys do not require my skill.” 

Adora and Glimmer look at each other and then nod affirmingly, smiling with the corners of their mouths. “Let’s do it, we don’t have a lot of time to waste!” Scorpia says. 

“Looks like the best friend squad is finally going on another mission together!” Bow exclaims excitedly. 

“You guys ready?” Glimmer asks, eyeing everyone. They all shake their heads affirmingly. Glimmer reaches out to Adora, placing one hand on her shoulder and the other on Bow’s, then Bow to Entrapta, Entrapta to Scorpia, and finally Adora places a hand on Catra’s shoulder. “Hey, I know you hate teleporting, so just hold onto my arm okay?” Adora says quietly, smiling apologetically at Catra. Catra shutters, the hair on the back of her neck and down her tail standing up as the energy starts to flow between all their bodies. She absolutely hated the feeling of teleporting, not to mention the static ruffled hair that she worked hard to keep neat. She hated when people saw her with a fluffy tail, it had always been a tell-tale sign that she was scared. Adora would always poke fun of it when they were kids every time she scared her jumping around corners or yelling, “Mouse!” one of Catra’s childish irrational fears. She grabs Adora’s arm, sinking her claws lightly into the white fabric of Adora’s ridiculous outfit, and then gives her an affirming nod, “Okay, I think I’m ready.”

Glimmer closes her eyes tightly and then a magical aura surrounds the group, “Hold on guys, to Dryl we go!” Glimmer shouts. And then the group dissipates in thin air, onward towards Dryl.


	11. Cornered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the chase after the Star Siblings, the Best Friend Squad + arrive at Dryl, home of the ever wandering princess herself who unintentionally throws them into a dilemma. Adora is on edge and for a good reason. The mission is already going south and it has barely begun.

The air in Dryl fizzles and cracks with static, sparkles of magic energy begin to form, and then in a flash of light, six bodies fall to the ground of the courtyard with a thud. The group all seems to collectively heave at the air being pushed out of their lungs from the less than perfect teleportation landing.

As soon as he regains air, Bow rushes to Glimmer’s side who is on her hands and knees, heaving to catch her breath, the trip having wiped out all of her energy. He’s so proud that she actually successfully teleported six people, but he’s worried about her. The last time she tried to teleport a large number of people, she passed out. That was in a time before she had the full power of her runestone though, now he knew that she was much more powerful since then, he just didn’t realize how much so. “Glimmer!” He shouts, sinking to his knees next to her.

Entrapta and Scorpia are helping each other up and Catra is still hanging on to Adora’s arm, her claws sunk into the fabric and probably into her skin. Catra sucks in her first full breath and then pulls her arm back, retracting her claws. “Sorry Adora I didn’t mean to-” “You’re okay?" Adora asks, grasping Catra by her arms, "That was a really hard fall.” Adora pats all over Catra as if to make sure she’s still in one piece, speaking fast and panicked, “did you break anything? Do you feel okay? I just need to make sure you’re not hurt, I-”

“Adora!” Catra shouts to get the anxious blonde’s attention as she’s analyzing her entire body. “I _am_ okay _,_ I just got the wind knocked out of me, that’s it! Just like everyone else!” Catra gives Adora a warm gaze. She knows why Adora is so anxious, normally she’d hate the thought of Adora trying to protect her all the time like she did when they were kids, but it had been only months earlier that she had fallen to what she believed was her own death, Adora plunging downward after her like the stubborn ass of a hero she was. Adora looks dumbfounded at first, but then returns the look, giving a soft huff at the realization that her girlfriend is in fact okay and relatively unscathed by their fall, “Okay. Good,” she sighs under her breath.

They both turn back to Bow and Glimmer. Glimmer has propped herself up onto one knee and Bow has an arm wrapped around her, holding her up. “You’re okay,” He tells her quietly, “you did awesome teleporting so many people at once! You did it, we all made it to Dryl!” She looks up at everyone with tired eyes, “Everyone’s-” a deep breath, a small pained gasp, “...okay though?”

Scorpia bends down and places an arm on the other side of her back, “we’re just fine, how about you though? That must have taken all the power you had to teleport all of us!” Glimmer steps her other foot forward, and with the help of Bow and Scorpia, stands onto both of her feet, “I am okay, really, just a bit tired. I didn’t mean to drop all of us! I guess I miscalculated our landing a little bit,” she winces, rubbing the back of her neck. “Anyway, we should really get going and find the Star Siblings, I hope they’re still here, hey Entrapta how do-”

Glimmer stops mid-sentence and looks around the group who is all staring at her. “Uh guys, were you all so worried about me that you let Entrapta wander away!?” They all look around the courtyard but there’s no sign of the purple haired girl anywhere. Bow growls in frustration, “Ughh, Entrapta is always wandering off on her own, it would kill her to just be patient and wait for once in her life!”

A sense of panic sets into Glimmer’s chest as she looks around again, “are you sure I teleported everyone? Maybe she let go before we teleported, I have to try and get back to Bright Moon to find her! We’ll never get around Dryl without her help!” She closes her eyes tightly and manages to muster up a few sparkles. Bow lunges towards her, grabbing her by the shoulder, “NO! Wait you don’t have enough power to make it all the way back there without seriously injuring yourself!”

“This is Entrapta we’re talking about, she always is wandering off on her own,” Scorpia interjects, “That and I know I saw her here because we helped each other get back up.”

“lucky for you guys, I integrated a tracking chip into her tracker pad the other day!” Bow says, beaming a little, raising his chin proudly, “you could say I’m something of a scientific genius!” He pulls his tracker pad out of one of his pockets and boots it up, “come on, come on, I know you work!” he grumbles at it.

“Wow Bow,” Catra says smirking, “at least this invention is a little more helpful than the magnifying glass arrow,” she shoots him a wink. He rolls his eyes as he mashes a few buttons, the screen still stuck in what seems like a never ending loading circle. “Hey, I personally think my inventions are awesome and that’s all that matters!” he says, huffing at her. “Yeah, whatever you say arrow boy!” Glimmer glares over at Catra as if she wants to say something with her hands on her hips, but Catra just grins mischievously back at her.

Adora, on the other side of Catra, can’t help but to look anxiously all around her, wondering what she would do if an enemy popped out of that door over there or if a squadron of survey drones swooped in from over the castle walls. She knew that their biggest threat had been defeated, but yet she still somehow always felt on edge and this feeling was growing more and more every day. On top of that, she was filled with a growing sense of dread about their looming trip to space. Maybe it was all in her head, or maybe she was just anxious to start, but Adora had a weird feeling in her gut about the things to come. _There has to be something else!_ She kept thinking, there was no way that amongst hundreds of planets and an entire expanse of universe, that her destiny began and ended on Etheria. She could feel it in her soul that her job was not over, that it was much much bigger than being the savior and defender of Etheria, but how, she did not know.

“I got it! I got her signal!” Bow shouts as the tracker pad starts to beep as it sweeps over a tiny blip on the screen. “And it looks like she’s not too far! Come on guys, let’s go!” He starts running toward the castle, and the squad follows, Adora taking up the rear so that she can make sure nobody gets a jump on them. Catra joins her, running along beside her like they did in the Bright Moon halls this morning.

She waits until they lag behind a little, out of ear-shot of the rest of the group before she speaks. “Hey Adora?” Catra asks in a questioning tone, “are you okay? You seem really distracted, looking all over like you're worried about something?”

Adora sucks in a quick breath, “What? Worried, no, I’m not worried. I’m like the furthest thing from worried, I’m totally fine Catra, I’m all good!” She replies rapidly.

Catra rolls her eyes, she can sense the anxiety spewing off of Adora, the quick and short responses, the anxious fluttering eyes, over-analyzing every little thing around them. Something was bothering her, and she knew it, she knew Adora so well. “Adora, you can’t fool me, what’s wrong?”

Adora rolls her eyes back at the girl, then turns her focus back to where they’re running, “Nothing is wrong Catra, and actually, I’m more worried about you, I know Lonnie rejecting your apology was upsetting, even Melog sensed it and came to check on you.”

Catra scoffs, “It’s whatever, I don’t need her to accept my apologies anyway,” she says quietly, her breath starting to get heavier from the running.

“I know, but you always said you’d never apologize to Lonnie, so I know that was sort of a big moment for you. She’ll come around eventually, she has to.”

Catra shakes her head, huffing slightly, “Yeah well I don’t need her to, she can just keep being mad for all I care. It doesn’t really matter anyway, Adora. Pretty soon we won’t even be on Etheria anymore, it’ll just be us and these clowns over here,” she gestures towards Bow and Glimmer.

Adora frowns, but she doesn’t want to keep pushing it, she knows Catra is a little on edge right now, and maybe it’s best to just let things be for the moment.

Deep down, Catra is a little hurt by Lonnie’s refusal to work with them because of her, but she would be stupid to not understand why. She did treat all three of them rather horribly when she was Force Captain, she didn’t blame Lonnie for wanting nothing to do with her. She was one of the reasons they left the Horde after all. But as Perfuma had told her before they left for Salineas, _“you don’t need the people in your life to forgive you before you can start forgiving yourself.”_ She couldn’t keep dwelling on the past if she was going to keep recovering, and she couldn’t make people forgive her that didn’t want to.

The beeping on the pad is growing louder and louder as they round corners in the maze-like hallways of the castle. Bow had no idea where he was going, he was simply following the beeps as they became more and more frequent. “Wow, I sure wish we could teleport right now, this running is really making me feel out of shape!” Glimmer says in between breaths.

“Yeah, I think this is the most running I’ve done in a while, how did Entrapta wander so far in so little time!?” Scorpia adds.

They all round another corner, bow analyzing his tracker pad closely, when Adora sees them at the end of the hallway, “Um, guys?!” Adora shouts. At the end of the hallway, energy sparking from the end of their stun batons, is a group of Horde soldiers, all in full battle armor, the Horde insignia displayed across the front of their chest plates.

They all skid to a stop, Adora and Catra both instinctively drop into a fighting position, Catra flicking her claws out. Bow grabs his longbow, and nocks an arrow, Glimmer beside him tries to draw up some sort of power she has left, but the energy just sparks in her hand and fizzles out, so she positions herself behind Bow nervously. Scorpia tries to position herself in between them all, her eyes beginning to glow red with the power from the black garnet, electricity arcing between her pincers. They all collectively back up, putting some space in between them and the soldiers who keep up with them, step by step.

Adora raises her hand into the air, “For the honor of Grayskull!” she shouts, the hilt of the sword appearing in her hand, her regular clothing replaced by her white and gold She-Ra get up. A magical aura forms around her eight foot tall body, and she looks up, a glint in her icy blue eyes. For a moment the soldiers seem to gasp at the sight, but then they keep walking forward, stun batons at the ready. Adora walks between her friends, towering over even Scorpia who seems ready to fight their little batons with her powerful red lightning, gesturing for them to all hold on with a swipe of her hand.

The soldiers halt in their tracks, a few of them gasp audibly as they catch sight of Adora, in her tall, muscular, warrior princess form.

“You all realize that the war is over now, there is no more Horde, you guys are all that is left,” Adora says, her sword pointed at the ground between them. “We don’t want to hurt you, but I suggest you let us through otherwise you’ll have the wrath of three princesses to deal with,” she says, her head cocked confidently. There was no way five little Horde soldiers stood a chance against six of them, she could take them out by herself. “Your choice,” Adora says with a grin.

The soldier who appears to be in the lead steps ahead of the others and begins to cackle, “you princesses think we don’t know that? This is the new Horde, we don’t need Hordak or Horde Prime telling us what to do anymore! We take the resources we need, we take over the territory we need, and no giant princess is going to stand in our way. We make our own rules,” the tall soldier woman says laughing again, “besides _She-Ra_ ,” she says the name venomously, “we have a way to take you down and you can thank your little friend we captured. She has loads of this first one junk laying all over here that is surprisingly compatible with these stun batons!”

The soldiers flip switches on the sides of their batons, and the color of the eclectic arcs turns from white to red, a red that they've all seen before, once here in Dryl, another time in the cold expanse of the Northern Reach.

Adora gasps, _no, not this again, not once, but twice had she been turned into infected She-Ra, it turned her against her own friends, she could hurt them, she could hurt Catra._

Scorpia gasps as well, lowering her arm, the glow in her eyes fading, “the infected First One disc? I broke that when we were at the Northern Reach, how could it-”

“Becauseee I made duplicates!” Entrapta screeches from behind, laughing obnoxiously, “you really think I would just let a fascinating scientific relic be destroyed so easily?”

They all turn in surprise to see Entrapta, restrained by another group of Horde soldiers on their rear. Catra has turned to face them and is baring her teeth, letting out a low growl and hiss. Adora holds her sword out in front of her, pointing it between both groups of soldiers, unsure of what to do next. They’re outnumbered now, and not only that, but the soldiers have tech that will make her go crazy and attack her own friends, something that she did not want to risk.

“Your call She-Ra,” the soldier says in a snarky tone, “you can try to fight us, and your friends all get hurt by nobody other than yourself, or you can surrender and nobody has to get hurt!”

From the rear Adora can hear Catra hissing, “Come on Adora, we can take these losers, they’re probably bluffing anyway!” Adora looks at all her friends, they’re so poorly positioned in the hallway that no matter what tactic she ran through her head, ended up with herself infected, taking out all her friends with her because of how close they all are together. “Bow, Glimmer, Scorpia, you got any ideas?” She hisses quietly, but she realizes that Glimmer is out of power and that leaves Catra, Bow, and Scorpia, a mere three vs. maybe ten, twelve? Not to mention all it takes is one touch of their batons and it’s game over for her.

“Entrapta, sometimes you have some of the worst ideas!” Glimmer yells from behind Bow. Entrapta laughs, then shrugs, “I think it was a great idea, now we can see how the First One’s tech reacts with She-Ra now that the sword is broken!” Glimmer smacks her palm to her forehead, “Ughh, this is not a good thing, She-Ra could kill us all Entrapta, this is serious!”

The soldiers take another step forward, forcing them all to smoosh together, their backs to each other with Adora in the middle. The soldier taps her foot impatiently, “Come on She-Ra, what will it be? We don’t have all day and I’m really liking the sound of letting you take all your friends out by yourself, less work for me and more fun to watch,” she says, tapping the batton in her open palm.

_How would the infection from the disc affect me now?_ Adora thinks, _Now that I’m She-Ra and the sword is magic that dwells within me, would the infection affect me no matter what or would I be invincible to it in my normal form? There’s only one way to find out..._

She lets go of the sword’s hilt and drops her arm, her clothing returning to normal, and herself shrinking back down to her normal height. Bow gasps, “Adora! What are you doing!”

Adora looks back to Catra and gives her a weak smile, Catra panics, lunging out in her direction, “Adora! Wait, you idiot! What the hell!” Adora steps forward toward the soldiers, raising her palms up in surrender, “How about you take me in exchange for all of my friends, Entrapta included, and you let them all go?”

“Adora! Stop!” Catra yells, reaching for her arm, but Bow grabs her shoulder, holding her back. “Let me go! I’m not just going to let Adora surrender herself like nothing for all of us, we can take them all on!” Catra rips herself from Bow’s grip and tackles Adora to the ground.

Sitting on Adora’s hips, Catra looks up at the soldier who is pointing her stun baton directly at them. “If you take Adora, you take me too, got it?” She looks down at Adora who looks dumbfounded at what’s just happened and shakes her head, “God Adora when are you going to start making decisions that don’t hurt yourself or get yourself captured! Idiot!”

Adora can see the sadness in Catra’s eyes as tears begin to well up in the corners, she doesn’t know what to say. She was sure the squad would come up with a rescue mission and get them both back, or that they would be able to find the right opportunity to escape, she just wasn’t expecting Catra to throw herself into getting captured as well. She can see a tinge of anger in her face as the girl sits on her hips, kneeling over top of her, and she doesn't blame her. It had been a rough day so far, for everyone, but Catra especially.

“Grab them and let the crazy one go,” the soldier in charge demands. The two soldiers next to her come forward and grab Catra by both arms, snapping a restraint onto both wrists. Catra struggles against them but she knows that it’s nearly impossible to free yourself from Horde restraints, she’s tried unsuccessfully before.

The soldiers then come to pick Adora off the ground, and she faces her friends as they slap the restraints onto her wrists. Her heart sinks as she sees all their faces, mouths hanging in shock. She gives them an apologetic half smile, “I’m sorry guys, I didn’t want to hurt any of you…”

Scorpia shakes her head, and huffs, Glimmer is holding onto Bow’s arm, when all of a sudden they hear a rumble, and the ground starts to shake, first softly, then louder and more violently. Everyone stops what they’re doing and looks at the walls surrounding them, worried they might cave in.

“Hey, focus! Keep restraining the blonde one! Don’t let her get a chance to overpower you, she’s tricky, and watch for other one’s claws, she’s the ex force captain who took Hordak down!” the leader shouts, pointing her baton between Catra and Adora. But the rumbling continues to grow louder and stronger, and all the soldiers start to get crazed looks in their eyes, “what is that?” one shouts, “that sounds like an earthquake!” another yells.

_I swear that sounds like a Horde tank…_ Catra thinks as she glances at the walls, dust falling down onto them as they shake. She’d been inside Horde tanks many many times, the rumble and shaking was all too familiar…

As the shaking intensifies, a brick crumbles under the weight of the castle wall, and chunks plummet down, smacking one of the Horde soldiers on the helmet, “hey!” they shout. All of a sudden the walls do cave, bricks falling all over, half of the Horde soldiers being buried, the other half knocked to the ground.

The Best Friend Squad plus Scorpia and Entrapta attempt to dodge and duck to avoid being buried themselves, but the wall caves much too fast for all of them to escape it.

When the dust starts to settle, Adora pushes a brick off of her leg with her half restrained arm, and wiggles the other one free, instantly scanning the area for Catra, who she locates a few feet from her, chest down underneath a pile of bricks. She rushes to her side and begins throwing the bricks off of her, a panic setting in as she slowly uncovers her girlfriend’s small body, praying, pleading with her that she would be okay. Her heart is beating out of her chest, she could be hurt herself for all she knew but that didn't matter to her.

A Horde tank now sits where there was once wall, the turret spanning from one side of the hallway to the other. “Awwww, my castle!” Entrapta exclaims, still restrained herself “as long as they didn’t hurt any of my research equipment!”

Bow and Scorpia are helping pull Glimmer up out of the rubble, who coughs in the resting dust, then yells, “what the HELL happened?!” Scorpia points to the tank, “I think whoever was driving that thing saved us?”

Adora turns Catra over on her side, patting her down again to make sure she’s okay. She summons her sword into her hand and carefully cuts the restraint off Catra’s wrists, careful not to hurt her. Catra coughs, a little plume of dust escaping her nose, then opens her heterochromic eyes, staring at Adora as she cradles her head in her lap. “He-hey Adora, I’m okay,” she says, her ears laid back against her head, now perking up as she sees her girlfriend’s face.

Adora sighs out in relief, “Oh god, I had flashbacks to..to.. And I saw you get buried, and I was so worried, I thought I was going to lose you again and-” Catra smiles, reaching out a hand to Adora’s cheek, “how many times do I have to say this, but you’re such an idiot.” Adora leans into her hand, giving her the same smile she did when they were at the heart, but the moment doesn’t last long.

The hatch on the tank pops open with an audible clanking, the squad, still recovering from the wall jump and assume a stance, ready for another wave of Horde soldiers. But the head that pops out of the hatch hole is not that of an enemy soldier, but the blonde messy hair of none other than Kyle.


End file.
